By Angelo Amante
ROME, May 19 (Reuters) – Italy and India will seek to reinforce diplomatic and trade ties during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Rome by elevating their relationship to that of a special strategic partnership, an Italian government official said on Tuesday.
Like other European countries, Italy has looked to India as an ally during a period of geopolitical upheaval. The European Union earlier this year concluded a long‑delayed trade deal with India, partly aimed at reducing its reliance on the United States.
Modi’s trip is his first bilateral visit to Italy, following his attendance at a G7 summit in June 2024 and a G20 gathering three years earlier. He will meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday at the 17th-century Villa Doria Pamphili.
“This visit will focus on how to boost India-Italy cooperation, especially focusing on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC),” Modi wrote on his account on social media platform X after landing in Rome.
IMEC, based on a memorandum signed in 2023 between partners including the European Union and the United States, is a project to develop trade routes connecting India to the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Gulf with Europe.
BOOSTING TRADE
The two leaders will adopt a joint declaration to strengthen their partnership, including through annual heads-of-government summits and a target of reaching 20 billion euros ($23.2 billion) in bilateral trade by 2029, the official, who asked not to be named, said.
Bilateral trade totalled more than 14 billion euros in 2023, according to the website of the Italian embassy in New Delhi.
The G20 members, which established a strategic partnership in 2023, have already expanded cooperation in sectors including scientific research, trade and artificial intelligence, the official said.
Modi and Meloni will attend a working lunch with senior executives from leading Italian and Indian industrial groups, who will exchange views on how to further strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation.
Agreements will also be signed covering maritime transport, agriculture, higher education, critical minerals, museum cooperation and the fight against economic and financial crime, the official said.
Meloni and Modi will also discuss major international issues including the Middle East, Ukraine and security in the Indo-Pacific.
Modi said that he had also scheduled a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and would visit the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
($1 = 0.8610 euros)
(Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gus Trompiz and Nick Zieminski)
Comments