Heirs to millennia-old civilizations, Italy and India have historically been linked by dialogue, mutual exchanges, and reciprocal influences. Today, their bilateral relations are growing even closer.
After launching a Strategic Partnership in March 2023, Prime Minister Meloni and Prime Minister Modi signed a Joint Strategic Action Plan on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio on November 18. This new framework is set to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in ten priority areas: political dialogue; economic cooperation and investments; connectivity; science, technology, innovation, and start-ups; space sector; energy transition; defense cooperation; security cooperation; migration and mobility; culture, tourism, and people-to-people contacts.
In each of these fields, Rome and Delhi are committed to deepening synergies and complementarities through the launch of shared initiatives and joint projects focused on concrete achievements. A concrete example of the deep convergence between Italy and India is their support for the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor and its goal of enhancing infrastructural, digital, and trade connections between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. These are not only Italy and India’s strategic neighborhoods, respectively, but also parts of a common region, the Indo-Mediterranean, in which Italy and India play the role of natural terminals and hubs.
Economic cooperation and trade are pillars of our bilateral partnership. Trade in goods and services between Italy and India almost doubled between 2017 and 2023, reaching more than 14 billion euros. India is Italy’s second-largest trading partner in Asia. Its vibrant economic performance, underpinned by incredible trends in demographic growth, innovation, and technology, makes India an increasingly important partner for Italian companies and exports. Similarly, the broad and overall appreciation in India for Italian manufacturing excellence, entrepreneurial skills, and know-how contributes to fostering opportunities for more bilateral investments and industrial collaboration. In particular, Italy and India are determined to work closer together in areas of strategic importance, such as steel, automotive, new technologies, critical raw materials, blue economy, advanced manufacturing, recycling industry, energy, and space.
Equally close and promising are bilateral collaborations in scientific and technological research, as well as in culture. The dialogue between Italy and India is focused primarily on creative industries, fashion, design, cinema, and cuisine.
Finally, people-to-people and civil society contacts: an increasing number of students and workers from all parts of India choose every year Italy as destination for their studies and careers. They contribute to the enrichment of an Indian community—the largest in the European Union—that has perfectly integrated within the Italian economy and society. The Italian and Indian Governments are working to further deepening skilled labor mobility, human contacts, and collaborations between schools and universities.
