The Deputy Prime Minister (PM) and Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation of Italy, Antonio Tajani was on an official 2-day state visit to India from April 11 to 12, 2025.
- He was accompanied by Anna Maria Bernini, Minister of University and Research; and a large delegation of businesses, leading universities and research institutions.
Highlights of the Visit :
During his official visit to India, the Deputy PM of Italy Antonio Tajani called on President of India Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Delhi.
- He also held a bilateral meeting with Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I) at Vanijya Bhawan in New Delhi, Delhi.
Bilateral Meeting Between EAM Dr. S Jaishankar and Deputy PM of Italy
On April 11 2025, Union Minister Dr. Subramanyam Jai Shankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) held a delegation level meeting with Antonio Tajani , Deputy PM and Foreign Minister of Italy held at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Delhi.
- During the meeting, leaders of both countries reviewed the growing bilateral cooperation under the ambit of Joint Strategic Action Plan (JSAP) 2025-29 which included diverse areas of trade and investment, defence and security, space, science and technology, tourism, among others.
Note: JSAP 2025-29 was announced during the bilateral discussions held between PM Narendra Modi and his counterpart Georgia Meloni, PM of Italy held on the sidelines of G-20 summit in Rio De Janerio, Brazil in November 2024.
Key Points:
i.Both countries have agreed to expand cooperation in areas of trade, defence, clean energy and high technology and renewed their commitment to work jointly in implementing the ambitious India-Middle-East-Europe-Economic Corridor (IMEEC).
ii.Also, leaders of both countries acknowledged the vast potential of India-Italy cooperation in areas like: Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber, telecommunications, digital technologies, education and mobility of youth among others.
Points to Note:
i.The IMEEC initiative was announced on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit held in New Delhi in September 2023.
ii.The initiative envisages a vast network of road, railroad, and shipping among Saudi Arabia, India, the USA and Europe with an aim to ensure integration among Asia, Middle East and West.
India-Italy Business, Science & Tech Forum:
On April 11 2025, EAM Dr. S. Jai Shankar; Union Minister Piyush Goyal, MoC&I and Antonio Tajani, Deputy PM of Italy co-chaired the 1st India-Italy Business, Science and Tech Forum held in New Delhi.
- The forum aimed to foster tech collaborations, innovation, academic and Research & Development (R&D) partnerships, co-production and joint business ventures.
i.The forum witnessed the participation of over 100 Italian companies and counterpart Indian companies from 4 key sectors: Industry 4.0 and new technologies; infrastructure, transport and logistics; clean energy transition; and aerospace and defence.
ii.Besides, an Education, Science and Tech, Innovation Forum was organised in New Delhi. The forum saw the participation of heads of universities and research centres from both countries.
- The forum provided a platform to explore research and innovation, and higher education collaborations.
India & Italy Sign MoU to Boost Cooperation in Science and Technology:
On April 11 2025, Anna Maria Bernini, Minister of University and Research (Italy) called on Union Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge, IC) Dr. Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), India held a high-level meeting in New Delhi.
- During the meeting, both the ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing collaboration in the fields of science and technology.
Key Points:
i.As part of JSAP 2025-29, India & Italy agreed to implement 2025-27 Executive Programme for Scientific and Technological Cooperation, which aimed to foster collaboration in critical technologies like: AI and digitalization.
ii.Union MoS also announced the signing of the Indo-Italian Executive Programme of Cooperation (EPOC) for 2025-27 in April 2025 during the Joint Science & Technology Committee meeting.
- The current programme includes joint funding for 10 research mobility proposals and 10 significant collaborative research initiatives across a wide range of scientific disciplines.
- As per this framework, both countries have successfully implemented more than 150 joint research projects to date.
iv.Union MoS Dr. Jitendra Singh, who also holds the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), informed the delegation about India’s ambitious Deep Ocean Mission, which aims to send an Indian submersible 6,000 meters (m) deep into the ocean.
- The trial dive of maximum 500 meters(m) is set to commence in 2026.
v.Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to long-standing cooperation the fields such as: infectious diseases, Quantum technologies, green hydrogen, and renewable energy (RE), cultural heritage preservation technologies and sustainable blue economy.
About Italy:
Prime Minister (PM)- Georgia Meloni
Capital- Rome
Currency- Euro (EUR)
