On the sidelines of the G20 Summit that is taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic Giorgio Meloni have announced a Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29. The leaders engaged in a comprehensive dialogue on the sidelines of the summit, and decided to boost their strong and exceptional partnership.
In line with same, an update by Prime Minister Modi on his X (Twitter) handle states “Glad to have met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the Rio de Janeiro G20 Summit. Our talks centred around deepening ties in defence, security, trade and technology. We also talked about how to boost cooperation in culture, education and other such areas. India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet”. On the other, an update from Prime Minister Meloni on the same platform states “Always a great pleasure to meet the Prime Minister of India, also on this occasion of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. A precious opportunity for dialogue that allowed us to reaffirm our common commitment to advance the India-Italy strategic partnership, with the announcement of a joint strategic action plan 2025-29 in key sectors such as trade and investment, science and technology, new and emerging technologies, clean energy, space, defense, connectivity. Together we expressed our desire to continue working together to further deepen our bilateral partnership for the benefit of the economies and citizens of both nations, and in support of the shared values of democracy, rule of law and sustainable development.
There has been considerable high level interaction between the two leaders, with the latest meeting taking place on the occasion of the G7 Summit chaired by Prime Minister Meloni in June 2024.
Facets of the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29
Political Dialogue
To intensify meetings and interactions through reciprocal visits between the Heads of Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Defence and other ministries and continue to hold Bilateral Consultations between the two Foreign Ministries, thereby deepening cooperation in all sectors of common interest.
Economic Cooperation and Investments
To leverage the work of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation and the Italy-India Joint Working Group on Food Processing and increase bilateral trade, market access and investment especially in high potential areas such as transportation, agricultural products and machinery among others. They also agreed to promote industrial partnership, technological centres and mutual investment including in domains of automotive, semiconductors, infrastructure etc.
Connectivity
To foster cooperation on sustainable transport in the context of environment sustainability and climate change and also enhance collaboration in maritime and land infrastructure, including in the framework of the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC).
Science, Technology, IT, Innovation and Start-ups
The leaders agreed to expand cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, explore avenues of cooperation in Industry 4.0, increase educational and research opportunities; particularly in the STEM domain, foster interaction between start-ups and innovation systems between the countries, and initiate Indo-Italian Innovation and Incubation exchange Programme to leverage collective expertise and capacity for fostering scientific innovation.
Space Cooperation
To expand cooperation between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to include projects of common interest in Earth Observation, heliophysics and space exploration with special emphasis on lunar science. To explore and facilitate mutual commercial space collaboration, involving large industries, MSMEs and start-ups.
Energy Transition
To organise tech summits, promote knowledge of each other’s eco-systems and facilitate industrial partnerships. Also facilitate technology advancements and joint R&D collaborations and work together to strengthen the Global Biofuels Alliance and International Solar Alliance.
Defence and Security Cooperation
To hold regular Joint Defence Consultative (JDC) meetings and Joint Staff Talks (JST) and coordinate exchange of information and training activities. Also, explore avenues of enhanced partnerships and dialogue among public and private stakeholders, enhance maritime cooperation, and negotiate a defense industrial roadmap between the two ministries of Defence. The two countries aimed to enhance security cooperation and capacity building activities in areas such as cyber security and cybercrime and also strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism at the bilateral, regional and international forums.
Migration and Mobility
To promote safe and legal migration channels, in addition to fair and transparent labour training and recruitment procedures. Also, increase the mobility of students, researchers and academics, by concluding agreements between the respective Administrations in charge of higher education
Culture and People-to –People ties
To acknowledge the contribution of the vital Indian and Italian communities in promoting bilateral and cultural ties and long-standing bonds of friendship and also reinforce bilateral collaboration on preservation and restoration of old and heritage sites and buildings.
