India-Italy Relations

Jun 2024: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met. Ms. Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, on the sidelines of G7 Summit.  The two sides discussed bilateral defence and security cooperation and hoped for further enhancing the defence industrial collaboration. The leaders welcomed the signing of the Letter of Intent for Cooperation in Energy Transition which will boost bilateral cooperation in clean and green energy. 

Sept 2023: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of the Italy, Ms. Giorgia Meloni,  on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi. The two leaders took stock of progess in diverse areas of the India-Italy Strategic Partnership, and agreed to bolster cooperation in areas like defence and new and emerging technologies.

Apr 2023: Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India accompanied by a business delegation visited Rome where he met dignitaries from the Government and Industry to further strengthen trade & economic partnership.

Mar 2023: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited India to raise bilateral relations as part of the G20 Foreign Minister’s meeting in New Delhi and focused on digital transition, emerging technologies, space, and cybersecurity among the strategic areas. Strategic Partnership and Startup Bridge announced, and MoU on Defence Cooperation was signed between India and Italy. 

2023: India-Italy Business Roundtable co-chaired by H.E. Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Italy and H.E. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, India where top CXOs of Italian and Indian companies participated

May 2022: Minister Di Maio held a bilateral meeting with CIM Shri Piyush Goyal and co-chaired a business round-table which saw participation of top business leaders particulaarly in the energy, defence, sustainable mobility, and infrastructure sectors. 

Oct 2021: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Italy for 16th G20 Summit and met Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on the sidelines. Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition was announced and SOI on Textiles Cooperation was signed between India and Italy. 

July 2021: 21st Session of the India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation where a G2B interaction on energy transition was held on the margins with select companies from both sides. 

Mar 2021: Italy joined International Solar Alliance upgrading its partnership with India. 

Italy is India’s 4th largest trading partner in the European Union and the 18th largest FDI contributor to India. FDI inflows from Italy between Apr 2000 to Jun 2024 are reported at $3.49 Bn. Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2023-24 (Apr-Feb) crossed $13.22 Bn. 

The key products exported from India are organic basic product, precious metals and non-precious metals, textile products, fish, crustaceans and molluscs (processed and preserved), pharmaceuticals, dyes and pigments and yarns, motor vehicles & parts, refined petroleum products, footwear, industrial machinery, apparel, electrical machinery, plastics, iron & steel articles, oil & minerals fuels, leather goods.

The key products imported are machinery for textile, garment and leather industries (parts and accessories included), organic basic products, taps and valves, paper and cardboard; machine tools for metal shaping, ornamental and building stone, limestone, gypsum, chalk and slate, tubes, pipes, hollow profiles and related accessories in steel (excluding cast steel); pumps and compressors; chemical products.

An MoU was signed between Invest India and Italian Trade Agency (ITA) on the occasion of the state visit of Italy’s Prime Minister to India in Oct 2017. The partnership was renewed in Nov 2020 to promote mutual investments between the two countries.

A ”Permanent Digital Bilateral Platform of Economic Partnership” has been launched between India and Italy. The event is being coordinated jointly by Invest India, The Embassy of Italy, New Delhi and the Italian Trade Agency. The Digital Bilateral Platform was launched with the objective to further develop bilateral trade and promote ease of doing business and mutual investments.

With over 200,000 Indians, the Indian community in Italy is the third largest in Europe.

In Dec 2022, ITA Airways connected New Delhi to Rome with a direct flight. In Feb 2023, Air India started New Delhi to Milan nonstop direct flight.

Alappuzha, Kerala is often referred to as the "Venice of the East" and the "Venetian Capital" due to its stunning backwaters and houseboats.

The Italian Embassy Cultural Centre in New Delhi, which is an official institution of the Republic of Italy, actively promotes the understanding of Italian traditions and culture in India through a variety of cultural events. Its aim is to facilitate the exchange of ideas, arts, and sciences between Italy and India.

Minerva – The Italian Education Hub in India, is an initiative promoted and managed by the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the Patronage of the Embassy of Italy in New Delhi to provide international standard educational and vocational training courses for Indian students to enable them to secure placements in higher educational institutes in both Italy and India.

Bocconi University, located in Milan, Italy, is one of the leading private universities in the country. It boasts a sizable Indian student population, and offers various exchange programs and partnerships with some of India's top universities. IIFT - Indian Institute of Foreign Trade; IIM Ahmedabad; IIM Bangalore; IIM Calcutta; IIM Indore; IIM Kozhikode; IIM Lucknow; ISB - Indian School of Business; MDI Gurgaon -Management.
 

SDA Bocconi School of Management is among the leading business schools in Europe and has gained triple accreditation. It has a pan-Asian hub in Mumbai, India since 2012. It offers Executive Education and Postgraduate Programs designed by SDA Bocconi School of Management.

Istituto Marangoni is internationally recognised as one of the leading players offering higher education in the fields of fashion, design and art. They have extended its network, opening new schools in Firenze, Paris , London, Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Miami.

A bilateral agreement for cultural cooperation between the two countries was first signed in 1976. This was then renewed in 2004.