3 min readNew DelhiNov 20, 2024 07:38 AM IST
First published on: Nov 20, 2024 at 02:15 AM IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni announced a five-year strategic action plan outlining their vision for collaboration in a range of key sectors, including defence, trade, energy and space.
The two leaders unveiled the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29 as they met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“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.
PM Modi with PM Meloni in Rio de Janeiro. (PTI) 
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