Overview of Italy’s Deputy PM Antonio Tajani’s Visit to India from December 10-12 2025

Antonio Tajani, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister(PM) and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, visited India from 10 to 12 December 2025 to strengthen the India‑Italy Strategic Partnership and enhance bilateral cooperation. This marked his second visit to India in 2025.

• Earlier he visited India from April 11 to 12, 2025.

Highlights of Italy’s Deputy PM Antonio Tajani’s Visit to India:

Arrival: On December 10, 2025, Antonio Tajani arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, Delhi. He was welcomed by Union Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs(MEA).

High-Level Meeting: Italy’s Deputy PM Antonio Tajani held bilateral meetings with PM Narendra Modi and discussed deepening cooperation across trade, security, connectivity and strategic projects. He invited PM Modi to visit Italy in 2026.

• He met Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor(NSA), highlighting interests in trade, strategic cooperation, maritime and security issues.
• He expressed the aim to increase bilateral trade with India from 14 billion Euro to 20 billion Euro by 2029.

Italy-India Business Forum 2025: 

Forum: On December 11, 2025, Italy’s Deputy PM Antonio Tajani co-chaired the Italy-India Business Forum 2025 along with Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I), held in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

• The forum brought together senior government officials, industry leaders, Unicorn founders and over 150 business delegations from India and Italy.

Focus Sectors: The forum focused on increasing trade, strengthening supply chains, promoting technology partnerships, and deepening cooperation in clean mobility, green energy, advanced manufacturing, and food processing.

Opportunities Identified: The forum featured sectoral roundtables and pitching sessions, enabling direct industry-to-industry interactions. These discussions helped identify opportunities for Joint Ventures (JVs), Research and Development (R&D) partnerships, co-development, and value-chain integration.

Unicorns Interaction: The leaders interacted with Indian unicorns to explore cooperation in digital innovation, startups, Artificial Intelligence (AI), deeptech, fintech, and industrial technologies.

• A Business to Business (B2B) matchmaking session resulted in over 100 business meetings between companies from India and Italy.

Signing of India-Italy JCEC: 

JCEC: On December 12, 2025, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, MoC&I and Italy’s Deputy PM Antonio Tajani  signed the Agreed Minutes of the 22nd session of the India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC).

Economic Collaboration: The protocol provides a structured roadmap for economic collaboration, including clearly defined trade and investment targets, sector-specific working groups, and regular institutional dialogue to monitor progress.

Cooperation Expansion: The protocol emphasizes expansion of cooperation in Renewable Energy (RE) and clean technologies, defence manufacturing and industrial cooperation, digital infrastructure and high-technology industries, sustainable mobility and innovation ecosystems.

Key MoUs Signed:

SIMEST & ICC: SIMEST (Societa Italiana per le Imprese all’Estero), an Italian foreign investment company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), under MoC&I, with an aim to strengthen institutional support for Italian companies seeking to expand their operations in India.

SAIL & Danieli Group: An agreement was signed between Steel Authority of India (SAIL), under Ministry of Steel (MoS), and Danieli Group, awarding three large steel plant projects to Danieli Group. Under this agreement, Danieli will supply advanced green steel technology for a Blast Furnace, Slab Caster, and Hot Strip Mill.

• These facilities will have a combined production capacity of over 4 million tonnes(MT) per year, with the total contract valued at approximately 500 million Euros.

PRADA, LIDCOM & LIDKAR: An MoU was signed between PRADA S.p.A, an Italian Luxury fashion house; Leather Industries Development Corporation of Maharashtra (LIDCOM), under Government of Maharashtra; and Leather Industries Development Corporation of Karnataka (LIDKAR), under Government of Karnataka, with an aim to develop a limited-edition sandal line inspired by traditional Kohlapuri chappals.

• The collaboration blends Italian design expertise with Indian artisanal craftsmanship, showcasing cultural exchange and innovation in the fashion and lifestyle sector.

Kuvera S.p.A & Neopolis Brands: Kuvera S.p.A and Neopolis Brands Private Limited entered into an agreement to expand the presence of Carpisa in the Indian retail market.

Cavagna Group & Mr. Gatayla: Cavagna Group established a new JV, Cavagna Group Ace Brass Tech Private Limited, in partnership with Mr. Gatayla, with an investment of 5 million Euros, with Cavagna Group holding a 51% stake.

About Italy:
Prime Minister (PM) – Giorgia Meloni
Capital – Rome
Currency – Euro (EUR)