Italy and India: Strategic Partnership for the Indo-Mediterranean Region | Today’s news

The relationship between India and Italy has now reached a decisive stage, evolving from a cordial friendship to a special strategic partnership based on the values ​​of freedom and democracy and a common vision for the future. Guided by regular exchanges at higher political and institutional levels, this partnership takes on a new and higher dimension that brings together our economic dynamism, social creativity and millennia-old civilizational wisdom.

Our cooperation reflects our shared awareness that prosperity and security in the 21st century will be shaped by the ability of nations to innovate, manage energy transitions and strengthen strategic sovereignty. To this end, we are committed to deepening and diversifying our bilateral relationship to pursue new goals and combine our complementary strengths. We aim to create a strong synergy between Italian design, manufacturing excellence and world-class supercomputers – reflecting Italy’s position as an industrial powerhouse – and India’s rapid economic growth, technical talent, scale and innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem with more than 100 unicorns and 200,000 start-ups. This is not a simple integration, but a co-creation of value where our respective industrial strengths are mutually reinforcing.

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and India paves the way for increased trade and investment in both directions. We want to reach and exceed the 20 billion euro target for Italy-India trade by 2029, focusing on defense and aerospace, clean technology, machinery, automotive components, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agri-food, tourism and more.

“Made in Italy” has always been synonymous with excellence worldwide and today finds a natural synergy with the high quality objectives of the “Make in India” initiative. In this context, the growing interest of Italian companies in manufacturing for India and the increasing presence of Indian industry in Italy, now numbering over 1,000 on both sides, is a positive sign that will strengthen the integration of our supply chains.

Technological innovation is the foundation of our partnership. The coming decades will be shaped by a technological revolution of immeasurable scale, marked by advances in sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, critical minerals and digital infrastructure. India’s dynamic innovation ecosystem together with Italy’s highly skilled professional talent and advanced industrial capabilities make our cooperation in the above industries both natural and strategic. The growing partnership between our universities and research centers will support this. India’s digital public infrastructure is already resonating with a large number of countries, particularly in the Global South. Artificial intelligence in particular is already impacting our societies and the global economy. Italy and India have long worked together to ensure that the development of artificial intelligence is responsible and human-centered. From this perspective, India and Italy also see AI as a powerful tool for inclusive development, especially for the Global South, where digital public infrastructure and accessible, multilingual technologies can bridge divides rather than deepen them. Based on India’s vision of MANAV – putting the human at the center of technology – and Italy’s leadership in promoting a human-centered “algorithic” rooted in its humanist tradition, our partnership seeks to ensure that AI acts as a catalyst for social empowerment. Our approach combines India’s digital scale with Italy’s ethical and industrial expertise to ensure that technology serves human dignity. By sharing best practices in secure digital collaboration, capacity building and resilient cyber infrastructure, we aim to create an open, trusted and fair digital space in which every nation can shape and benefit from AI. This perspective forms the core of the Italian G7 Presidency and the outcomes of the AI ​​Impact Summit 2026 held in New Delhi. To understand AI as a tool created by humans for humans is to firmly assert that technology cannot replace individuals or undermine their fundamental rights, nor can they be used to manipulate public debate or alter democratic processes. Our approach to defending freedom and human dignity in an increasingly interconnected world depends on this very challenge.

Our cooperation also concerns the space sector. India’s impressive advances in space exploration and satellite technology, together with Italy’s excellence in aerospace engineering, offer significant opportunities for joint initiatives and development of next-generation technologies.

Security and stability remain essential to ensuring the prosperity of nations. Italy and India intend to further strengthen their cooperation in sectors such as defense, security and strategic technologies. Our cooperation will help ensure the security of critical maritime routes, strengthen resilience against threats such as terrorism, international criminal networks, drug trafficking, cybercrime and human trafficking.

Energy is another key pillar of our partnership. The global transition to diversified energy sources requires innovation, investment and collaboration. From renewables to hydrogen technologies and from smart grids to resilient infrastructure, India and Italy are working together. While India’s push to become a green hydrogen export hub offers huge potential, it perfectly complements Italy’s advanced technology in renewable infrastructure and its strategic role as an energy gateway to Europe. In this context, our collaboration with other countries in key initiatives led by India – International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) is also important.

Physical, digital and human connectivity is the thread that binds us together. Both India and Italy are located at the very heart of two key centers of the global economy, the Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean – regions that cannot be considered separate spheres but rather increasingly interconnected spaces. In fact, we are witnessing the emergence of what could be called the Indo-Mediterranean, an important corridor for trade, technology, energy, data and ideas that connects the Indian Ocean with Europe. It is precisely in this interconnected space that our bond naturally evolves into a special strategic partnership – one that connects two continents and shapes a new global dynamic.

In this context, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) represents a vision aimed at connecting our regions through modern transport and infrastructure, digital networks, energy systems and resilient supply chains. India and Italy have also committed to working with other partners to realize this vision. Our shared vision aims to lay the foundations for a strong and forward-looking India-Italy partnership with our people at the centre.

Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India and Giorgia Meloni, the President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy.