Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his five-nation diplomatic tour with an official visit to Rome, Italy. During the visit, he held bilateral talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and met Italian President Sergio Mattarella. The tour focused on strengthening India’s strategic partnerships, trade, defence cooperation, innovation, clean energy, and global connectivity initiatives.
PM Modi’s five-nation tour included visits to:
Sweden
Norway
Finland
Denmark
Italy
The Prime Minister also participated in the 3rd India-Nordic Summit during the visit to Norway.
Major Highlights of the Tour:
India-Nordic Summit:
At the India-Nordic Summit, India and Nordic countries decided to elevate ties to a Green Technology and Innovation Strategic Partnership.
Discussions focused on:
Clean energy
Sustainability
Green technology
Artificial Intelligence
Arctic and polar research
Start-up cooperation
Innovation partnerships
India-Italy Relations Upgraded:
During the Rome visit, India and Italy upgraded their relationship to a Special Strategic Partnership.
Both countries agreed to:
Strengthen defence cooperation
Expand bilateral trade
Enhance mobility and technology partnerships
Develop a defence industrial roadmap
Promote co-development and co-production in defence manufacturin
The two nations also targeted bilateral trade worth 20 billion Euros by 2029.
Focus on IMEC Corridor
A key agenda during the Italy visit was the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), launched during the G20 Summit in 2023.
The corridor aims to improve:
Trade connectivity
Transportation networks
Energy infrastructure
Digital connectivity between India, the Middle East, and Europe
Italy expressed support for strengthening cooperation under the IMEC initiative.
Agreements Signed During Italy Visit
India and Italy signed agreements related to:
Maritime transport
Agriculture
Higher education
Critical minerals
Museum cooperation
Economic and financial crime prevention
Both sides also discussed major global issues including:
Indo-Pacific security
Ukraine conflict
West Asia situation
Multilateral reforms
Italy:
Capital: Rome
Currency: Euro
Nordic Countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
PM: Giorgia Meloni
President: Sergio Mattarella
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