Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni have said the relationship between India and Italy has now reached a decisive stage, evolving from a cordial friendship into a special strategic partnership.
In an article, jointly written by the two leaders for the Indian and Italian media, PM Modi and Meloni said that at a time when the international system is undergoing a profound change, the partnership between the two countries is guided by regular exchanges at higher political and institutional levels.
Modi is currently in Italy as part of the final leg of his five-nation tour. After landing in Rome on Tuesday (local time), PM Modi met Prime Minister Meloni over dinner followed by a visit to the iconic Colosseum. The two leaders exchanged perspectives on a wide range of subjects.
The two leaders said in the article the bilateral relation is gaining a new and higher dimension that combines the economic dynamism, societal creativity, and millennia-old civilisational wisdom of the two countries.
“The relationship between India and Italy has now reached a decisive stage. In recent years, our ties have expanded with unprecedented momentum, evolving from a cordial friendship into a special strategic partnership grounded in the values of freedom and democracy, and a common vision for the future,” they said.
The two leaders will meet for bilateral talks today to further boost the India-Italy friendship.
The two leaders said the cooperation between India and Italy mirrors the 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, they said they have committed to deepen and diversify the bilateral relationship with a view to pursuing new objectives and pooling the two countries’ complementary strengths.
“We aim to forge a powerful synergy between Italian design, manufacturing excellence, and world-class supercomputers – reflecting Italy’s position as an industrial powerhouse – and India’s rapid economic growth, engineering talent, scale, and innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem with over 100 unicorns and 200,000 start-ups,” they said.
The leaders said this is not a simple integration, but a co-creation of value where the respective industrial strengths amplify one another.
They said the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and India paves the way for increased trade and investment in both directions.
“We want to reach and exceed the Euro 20 billion target for trade between Italy and India by 2029, with a focus on defence & aerospace, clean technologies, machinery, automotive components, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agri-food, tourism and more,” they said.
The two leaders said technological innovation lies at the very heart of the partnership and the coming decades will be shaped by a technological revolution of unmeasurable scope, marked by advances in such sectors as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, critical minerals, and digital infrastructure.
They said India’s dynamic innovation ecosystem, coupled with a highly skilled professional talent pool, and Italy’s advanced industrial capabilities make the cooperation in the above sectors both natural and strategic.
‘Partnership between our Universities’
“The growing partnership between our Universities and Research Centres will support this. India’s Digital Public Infrastructure is already finding resonance with a large number of countries particularly in the Global South,” they said.
The leaders said AI, in particular, is already impacting societies and the global economy and Italy and India have long been collaborating to ensure that its development is responsible and human-centred.
India and Italy also see AI as a powerful instrument for inclusive development, especially for the Global South, where digital public infrastructure and accessible, multilingual technologies can bridge divides rather than deepen them, they said.
“Building on India’s vision of MANAV – putting human at the centre of technology – and Italy’s leadership in promoting a human-centric ‘algor-ethics’ rooted in its humanist tradition, our partnership seeks to ensure that AI acts as a catalyst for social empowerment,” they said.
Modi and Meloni said their approach combines India’s digital scale with Italy’s ethical and industrial expertise, ensuring technology serves human dignity. They said the India-Italy cooperation also covers the space sector and India’s impressive advancements in space exploration and satellite technology, together with Italy’s aerospace engineering excellence, offer significant opportunities for next-generation technology development.
They said Italy and India intend to further strengthen their cooperation in sectors such as defence, security and strategic technologies.
“Our collaboration will help ensure the security of critical maritime routes, strengthen resilience in the face of threats, such as terrorism, international criminal networks, drug trafficking, cyber-crimes and human trafficking,” they said.
The leaders said energy is another key pillar of our partnership and the global transition towards diversified energy sources requires innovation, investment, and cooperation.
Within Indian culture, Modi and Meloni said, the concept of “Dharma” evokes the sense of responsibility that must guide our actions, while the principle of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the world is one family – resonates powerfully in the interconnected digital age.
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