Italian deputy PM backs swift India-EU free trade pact finalisation

Antonio Tajani, after meeting S Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal in New York, said India is a “priority country” and announced a €500 million measure to boost Italian exports.

New York: Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani has met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session here and expressed Rome's commitment to the finalisation of the Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Union.

Antonio Tajani in a post on X on Thursday described the meeting as "important" and said he would be visiting India in the coming months.

"In New York, I also had important meetings with the Indian Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar and the Commerce Minister @PiyushGoyal," said Tajani.

"Italy and India share a strategic political and economic partnership that we intend to strengthen with my further visit to India in the coming months," he added.

Stating that India is a priority country, he said, "...for this reason I wanted the 'India' measure of 500 million euros to support our exporting companies".

"I confirmed Italy's support for a rapid finalisation of the Free Trade Agreement," he concluded.

The European Union (EU) is India’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for trade in goods worth EUR 120 billion in 2024, or 11.5 per cent ofIndia's total trade. Whereas India is the EU’s 9th largest trading partner, accounting for 2.4 per cent of the EU’s total trade in goods in 2024.