Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have said India–Italy relations have reached a significant phase, expanding rapidly in recent years into a strategic partnership rooted in shared values such as freedom and democracy and a common outlook for the future.
In a joint article, the two leaders noted that as the global order undergoes deep changes, the partnership is gaining a new dimension by bringing together economic strength, social creativity and civilisational experience. They said both sides are committed to deepening and diversifying bilateral ties by aligning their respective strengths.
Highlighting innovation and industry, they pointed to Italy’s design and manufacturing capabilities and its world-class supercomputing, alongside India’s fast-growing economy, engineering talent and a large startup ecosystem with more than 100 high-investment unicorns and around 200,000 startups. They also referred to the EU–India free trade agreement as a pathway to expand trade and investment in both directions.
The leaders said they aim to reach and surpass a bilateral trade target of ₹2.25 lakh crore by 2029, focusing on sectors including defence and space, clean technologies, machinery, auto components, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agri-food and tourism.
They also underlined the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as a forward-looking initiative to connect regions through modern transport and infrastructure, digital networks, energy systems and resilient supply chains, and said India and Italy will work with other partners to realise this vision. Emphasising people-centric cooperation, they invoked India’s ideas of “dharma” and “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” alongside Italy’s humanist tradition to frame a stronger, progressive partnership.
