Defence to space, India & Italy announce 5-year action plan

“Our talks centred around deepening ties in defence, security, trade and technology. We also talked about how to boost cooperation in culture, education and other such areas,” Modi wrote on X. “India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet”.

Monday’s meeting was the fifth between the two PMs in the last two years. They last met in June 2024, in Puglia, Italy, during the G7 Summit. “Following up on their discussions in Puglia, the two leaders reiterated their commitment to advancing the India-Italy Strategic Partnership and announced a Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29 which outlines their vision for the next five years,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Some of the key points in the Action Plan are:

Defence

Holding Joint Defence Consultative meetings, Joint Staff Talks on a yearly basis to coordinate exchanges of information, visits and training activities.

Interactions in the framework of Italy’s growing interest in Indo-Pacific region, aimed at increasing interoperability and cooperation.

Exploring avenues of enhanced partnerships and dialogue among public and private stakeholders, focusing on technology collaboration.

Economic Cooperation

Promoting industrial partnerships, technological centres and mutual investment, also in automotive, semiconductors, infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.

Connectivity

Enhancing collaboration in maritime and land infrastructure also in the framework of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.

Science & Innovation

Expanding cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, forging technology value chain partnerships in both countries in sectors such as telecom, artificial intelligence, and digitalization of services.

Space

Expanding cooperation between Italian Space Agency and ISRO to include projects of common interest in Earth observation, heliophysics and space exploration with emphasis on lunar science.

Migration and Mobility

Promote legal migration channels, as well as fair and transparent labour training and recruitment procedures. A pilot will cover training of health professionals in India and their subsequent employment in Italy.

Energy Transition

Strengthen the Global Biofuels Alliance and International Solar Alliance.