New Delhi: India and Italy agreed on Saturday to cement cooperation in several areas of mutual interests after extensive talks. A statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Antonio Tajani, who is on an official two-day visit to India, met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and held extensive talks covering trade, investment, defence, technology, and education.
According to Kuwait News Agency, both sides reviewed the growing bilateral cooperation under the ambit of Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29, covering areas such as trade and investment, defence and security, space, science and technology, clean energy transition, culture, tourism, and people-to-people ties. "They noted the vast potential of cooperation between India and Italy in areas of AI, cyber, telecom, digital technologies, renewable energy, biofuels, education and academic collaborations, scientific research, and mobility of youth and professionals, among others," the statement said. They also renewed their commitment to elevating the bilateral strategic partnership and ensuring concrete outcomes from the Joint Strategic Action Plan.
Both ministers also exchanged views on global and regional developments of mutual interest as the Indian minister welcomed Italy's continued focus on the Indo-Pacific. Both sides reiterated their commitment to taking forward the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor.
During this visit, the India-Italy Business, Science and Tech Forum was launched to facilitate tech collaborations, innovation, academic and research and development partnerships, co-production, and joint business ventures. Around 100 Italian and Indian companies in the fields of industry and new technologies, infrastructure, transport and logistics, clean energy transition, and aerospace and defence participated in the Forum, which saw efforts to forge economic and commercial partnerships.
Heads of universities and research centres from both countries participated in an Education, Science and Tech, Innovation Forum organized on the occasion to explore research and innovation, and higher education collaborations.