Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The discussions revolved around enhancing cooperation in key areas, including defence, security, trade, and technology.
In a post of X, PM Modi said, “Glad to have met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the Rio de Janeiro G20 Summit. Our talks centred around deepening ties in defence, security, trade, and technology. We also discussed ways to boost cooperation in culture, education, and other such areas. India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet”.
This marks the fifth meeting between the two leaders in the past two years, with their last interaction taking place in June 2024 during the G7 Summit in Puglia, Italy, chaired by PM Meloni.
The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the India-Italy Strategic Partnership and announced the launch of a Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29, outlining a roadmap for enhanced cooperation over the next five years.
This comprehensive plan focuses on trade and investment, science and technology, clean energy, space, defence, connectivity, and people-to-people linkages.
The Joint Strategic Action Plan includes mechanisms for regular ministerial and official dialogues across multiple domains. Key areas of focus include co-production, industrial collaboration, innovation, and mobility initiatives aimed at boosting economic ties and benefitting citizens of both nations.
PM Modi and PM Meloni also discussed their shared values of democracy, rule of law, and sustainable development, agreeing to continue their dialogue on multilateral platforms.
They reaffirmed their commitment to plurilateral initiatives, including the Global Biofuels Alliance and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, where both nations are founding members.
Earlier, PM Modi engaged with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and leaders from Indonesia and Portugal on the sidelines of the summit.
(Inputs from ANI)