India-Italy bonding: Tajani’s visit raises the bar for business, maritime ties

It was not just optics that captivated. Mr Tajani’s meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar resulted in strong political consensus to accelerate implementation of the Italy-India Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029. The action plan encompasses key sectors of India-Italy cooperation such as trade, investment, research, innovation, defence, space, connectivity, counterterrorism, education, and people-to-people ties.

“India-Italy friendship continues to get stronger, greatly benefiting our people and the global community,” PM Modi tweeted after the meeting with Tajani.

The delegation-level talks between the foreign ministers of India and Italy culminated in a joint decision to expedite implementation of India-Italy Joint Initiative to Counter Financing of Terrorism. In the talks, Dr Jaishankar underscored India’s policy of zero tolerance against terrorism. The two sides also decided to fast-track the launch of a Maritime Security Dialogue to enhance collaboration for safety, security, and growth across the maritime domain.

The two ministers emphasised on further strengthening collaboration in skilling and mobility particularly in the healthcare sector, said a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

Moving beyond the bilateral, the India-Italy partnership has acquired a strategic dimension following frequent meetings between PM Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni. The strategic aspect was reflected in discussions between the two ministers on developments in the Indo-Pacific, Ukraine, and West Asia/Middle East.

PM Meloni is expected to visit India for the AI summit in February 2026.

Economically, the India-Italy ties are scaling new frontiers. This was reflected in the India-Italy Business Forum in Mumbai that was co-chaired by India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Mr Tajani on December 11. The two ministers discussed ways of increasing and diversifying bilateral trade and investment. They set the target of scaling up bilateral trade from 14 billion euro to $20 billion by 2029.