Italy and India share robust and expansive economic ties, which have been further solidified with the adoption of the Joint Action Plan 2025-2029 at the G20 Summit in Rio in November 2024. This new framework outlines a comprehensive roadmap for deepening bilateral economic and industrial cooperation, encompassing joint initiatives, concrete projects, and direct investments.
The Action Plan builds upon the elevation of their relationship to a strategic partnership, a milestone achieved during Prime Minister Meloni’s visit to India in March 2023. Beyond traditional sectors such as transport, infrastructure, manufacturing, and the green economy, the plan identifies emerging high-value sectors for collaboration, including new technologies, startups, and innovation; Industry 4.0; critical materials; the digital economy; as well as space and defense industries.
The plan’s practical application has already begun to bear fruit in 2025, thanks to a series of economic forums. The first, the Italy-India Business, Scientific and Technological Forum, was held in New Delhi from April 10 to 11, bringing together over 730 delegates and 484 companies who participated in more than 400 direct business meetings. A few months later, on June 5, the format was repeated in Brescia with a similar event, the Italy-India Business Forum for Growth, which gathered over 400 participants for about 170 B2B meetings in the italian city key hub for “Made in Italy”.
Trade Exchange and Entrepreneurial Presence
In 2024, Italian exports to India reached €5.2 billion, a 1% increase compared to 2023. This placed India as the fifth-largest market for Italian exports in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for 9.8% of Italy’s total regional exports.
The total value of trade between the two countries was €14.2 billion, a slight decrease of 0.5% from 2023. This dip was primarily due to a 1.9% decline in Italian imports from India.
The three main sectors for Italian exports to India are machinery and electronic equipment, which account for approximately 2.05 billion euros (39.2% of the total), followed by chemical substances and products with about 593 million euros (11.4%), and basic metals and metal products with around 426 million euros (8.2% of the total). Regarding imports from India, the dominant sectors by value are Basic metals and metal products (€913 million), Chemical substances and products (€847 million), and Textile and clothing products (€640 million).
There are over 800 Italian companies in India, with an estimated workforce of around 60,000 units and a total turnover of 9.7 billion euros. Their presence varies from fully-owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, and representative commercial offices. The main geographical areas for Italian companies are the industrial hubs of Delhi-Gurgaon-Noida, Mumbai-Pune, Chennai, and Bengaluru.
In 2024, the stock of Italian foreign direct investment in India reached 6,892 million euros, while the stock of Indian investment in Italy rose to 490 million euros.
Institutional Presence in Support of Companies
One of the institutional tasks of the Embassy is to monitor the performance of the Indian economy and coordinate Italy’s economic promotion activities, with the aim of fostering the growth of commercial exchange, investment flows, and bilateral scientific and technological cooperation.
To promote the country, the Embassy works in collaboration with representatives of the Italian business community and coordinates the work of other institutional bodies active in India:
Consulate General in Bengaluru