NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni reiterated their commitment to advancing the India-Italy Strategic Partnership and announced a Joint Strategic Action Plan, which outlined their vision for the next five years, in what was their fifth meeting in the past two years on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil
According to the Indian govt, the Action Plan will pursue joint collaborations, programmes and initiatives in key sectors of trade and investment, science and technology, new and emerging technologies, clean energy, space, defence, connectivity, and people-to-people linkages.
On connectivity, Modi and Meloni agreed to ramp up collaboration in maritime and land infrastructure in the framework of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and agreed to conclude an agreement on cooperation in the maritime and port sector.
Under the defence pillar of the plan, the leaders agreed to explore avenues of partnerships and dialogue among public and private stakeholders, focusing on technology collaboration, co-production and co-development of defence platforms and equipment.
India and Italy will also negotiate a Defence Industrial Roadmap, between the two ministries of defence and promote a MoU between the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and the Italian Industries Federation for Aerospace, Defence and Security (AIAD).
On terrorism, they agreed to share information and best practices in the fight against terrorism and to conclude an agreement for the mutual protection and exchange of classified information.
“The two leaders looked forward to continuing their dialogue and working together on multilateral and global platforms for upholding their shared values of democracy, rule of law and sustainable development. They agreed to continue working together for the implementation of plurilateral strategic initiatives, including the Global Biofuels Alliance and the IMEEC, of which they are founding members,” the ministry of external affairs said in a statement.