India, Italy resolve to take forward IMEEC initiative

New Delhi: India and Italy have decided to expand cooperation in areas of trade, defence, clean energy and high technology while vowing to work jointly in implementing the ambitious India-Middle-East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEEC).

Ways to deepen India-Italy cooperation under the framework of Joint Strategic Action Plan (JSAP) 2025-29 figured prominently during talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani last evening.

Tajani, also the minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, is on a two-day visit to India from Friday.

In the delegation level talks, Jaishankar and Tajani reviewed the growing bilateral cooperation under the ambit of JSAP which included the areas of trade and investment, defence and security, space, science and technology, clean energy transition and people-to-people ties, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday.

It said the two ministers noted the vast potential of India-Italy cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, cyber, telecom, digital technologies, renewable energy, biofuels, education and mobility of youth and professionals, among others.

The JSAP was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni following their last November meeting at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Jaishankar and Tajani reiterated their commitment to elevating the bilateral strategic partnership and ensuring concrete outcomes from the JSAP, the MEA said in a statement.

It added that the visit and engagements of Deputy PM Tajani were instrumental is taking forward the strategic partnership and diversifying bilateral cooperation across domains as per the JSAP.

The two ministers also exchanged views on global and regional developments of mutual interest with Jaishankar welcoming Italy's continued focus on the Indo-Pacific.

Jaishankar and Tajani renewed their commitment to take forward the strategic initiative IMEEC, according to the MEA.

In this context, the external affairs minister welcomed Italy's appointment of a special envoy for IMEEC.

Billed as a pathbreaking initiative, the IMEEC envisages a vast road, railroad and shipping networks among Saudi Arabia, India, the United States and Europe with an aim to ensure integration among Asia, Middle East and West.

The IMEEC initiative was firmed up on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Delhi. An agreement was signed by India, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US and some other G20 partners for the corridor.

Tajani also met with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

Jaishankar, Goyal and Tajani also co-chaired the inaugural India-Italy Business, Science and Tech Forum which seeks to facilitate tech collaborations, innovation, academic and R&D partnerships, co-production and joint business ventures.

The forum saw the participation of more than 100 Italian companies and counterpart Indian firms from four key sectors: Industry 4.0 and new technologies; infrastructure, transport and logistics; clean energy transition; and aerospace and defence.

Several business-to-business meetings were held with the objective of forging economic and commercial partnerships.

An Education, Science and Tech, Innovation Forum was also organised in which Heads of universities and research centres from both countries participated to explore research and innovation, and higher education collaborations.

India's Ministry of Science and Technology and Italy's Ministry of University and Research also signed an MoU for cooperation in the field of scientific research.