Why in the News?

India and Italy have elevated their Strategic Partnership with a series of focused, time-bound initiatives and joint action plans. The agreement, announced during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro (18th November 2024), aims to deepen bilateral cooperation across sectors such as defence, economy, connectivity, science, culture, and migration. This marks a significant milestone in fostering collaboration between the two nations.

Key Initiatives of the India-Italy Strategic Partnership (2024)

• Economic Cooperation & Investments:
  • Strengthen bilateral trade and investments in high-potential sectors like green technologies, food processing, and advanced manufacturing.
  • Encourage trade fairs, business forums, and industrial partnerships.
  • Promote joint ventures and collaborations in critical areas like semiconductors and infrastructure.
• Connectivity
  • Enhance cooperation on sustainable transport and climate-focused infrastructure.
  • Collaborate under the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) framework.
  • Finalize agreements on maritime and port sector cooperation.
• Science, Technology, IT, Innovation, and Start-Ups
  • Expand cooperation in telecom, AI, Industry 4.0, and critical minerals.
  • Boost joint research in clean energy, fintech, agritech, and green energy.
  • Launch the Indo-Italian Innovation and Incubation Exchange Programme.
  • Operationalize the 2025-27 Executive Programme for scientific cooperation.
• Space Sector
  • Collaborate on space research, Earth observation, and lunar exploration.
  • Facilitate commercial partnerships in the space industry.
  • Organize a space industry delegation to India by mid-2025.
• Energy Transition
  • Host tech summits to share expertise in renewable energy and green hydrogen.
  • Strengthen partnerships under the Global Biofuels Alliance and International Solar Alliance.
  • Promote joint R&D in biofuels and energy efficiency.
• Defence Cooperation
  • Conduct annual Joint Defence Consultative meetings and Joint Staff Talks.
  • Enhance Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation and defence technology collaboration.
  • Negotiate a Defence Industrial Roadmap and finalize an MoU between defence industries.
• Security Cooperation
  • Enhance capacity-building in cybersecurity and combating cybercrimes.
  • Hold annual Joint Working Group meetings on terrorism and transnational crime.
  • Conclude agreements for classified information protection and judicial cooperation.
• Migration and Mobility
  • Promote legal migration, including pilot training projects for health professionals.
  • Enhance student, researcher, and academic mobility through bilateral agreements.
  • Counter irregular migration effectively.
• Culture, Academic, Cinema, and Tourism
  • Strengthen cultural exchanges, museum partnerships, and heritage preservation.
  • Foster university collaborations and vocational education ties.
  • Encourage film co-productions and promote bilateral tourism.
  • Implement the 2023 Executive Programme of Cultural Cooperation.