India-Italy Forum highlights shared vision for future-oriented strategic partnership
New Delhi: At the India-Italy Forum, organised by FICCI, Senior leaders from both nations highlighted a shared vision for a future-oriented partnership centred around innovation, high-end technology, and economic collaboration.
The forum also marked a strategic commitment to the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025–29, which Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal described as a “very forward-looking, ambitious and pragmatic roadmap.”
Goyal projected India’s economy growing from $4 trillion to as much as $35 trillion by 2047 and said, “Our goal of Viksit Bharat makes India a compelling case to deepen the engagement between the European Union and India, particularly Italy and India.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation of Italy, Antonio Tajani, emphasized the importance of India in the Indo-Pacific region, stating, “India is an important country for stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Stability is crucial to strengthen the trade.”
Tajani underlined that the current momentum in bilateral relations is stronger than ever, with trade already exceeding $14 billion. He called for further collaboration in innovation, AI, supercomputers, space technology, and defence, stressing that “Italy and India are natural economic partners.”
Echoing this sentiment, India’s Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, described the collaboration as one rooted in natural synergy. “Make In India today offers a platform or pathway for that collaboration to unfold,” he said, noting the complementarity between Indian ambitions and Italian capabilities.
He emphasised sectors like energy, food processing, and light engineering, where Italian technology can play a transformative role.
“Italy has the technologies and best practices that could make such collaboration more fruitful,” he added.
The Italian Minister for Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, highlighted mutual priorities of sustainable development and innovation, while Indian industry leaders stressed the need for trusted international alliances in an increasingly volatile global economic landscape.
