Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday decided to elevate India-Italy ties to the level of a Special Strategic Partnership during official talks held in Rome.
The two leaders welcomed the growing momentum in bilateral relations and agreed to strengthen cooperation across trade, defence, technology, innovation and connectivity under the India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025–2029.
According to a statement issued after the talks, both sides agreed to hold annual meetings between the leaders, including on the sidelines of multilateral events, along with regular ministerial and institutional-level engagements.
Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Meloni reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation across sectors including trade and investment, defence and security, science and technology, research and innovation, space, energy, artificial intelligence, critical technologies, education, culture and people-to-people ties.
The two countries also decided to establish a Foreign Minister-level mechanism to regularly review the implementation of the Joint Strategic Action Plan.
The leaders noted the growing momentum in bilateral trade and investment and welcomed efforts aimed at building long-term business partnerships.
They also interacted with Indian and Italian CEOs representing sectors such as defence, digital technology, energy transition, infrastructure and logistics.
India and Italy reiterated their shared objective of increasing bilateral trade to 20 billion euros by 2029 and called for the early implementation of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement.
On defence cooperation, the two leaders expressed satisfaction over growing engagement through ministerial exchanges, defence interactions and port visits.
They also welcomed the signing of a Joint Declaration of Intent and an industrial roadmap for cooperation in co-design, co-development and co-production of defence equipment.
The leaders highlighted expanding collaboration in science and technology and welcomed ongoing cooperation between the Italian Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Both sides also called for deeper cooperation in emerging sectors including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals and other advanced technologies.
Reaffirming their commitment to combating terrorism, the two leaders agreed to continue bilateral and multilateral cooperation in counter-terror efforts. They also reviewed the implementation of the Joint Initiative to Counter Financing of Terrorism adopted in November 2025.
Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Meloni acknowledged the contribution of the Indian diaspora in Italy and agreed to facilitate greater mobility for students, researchers and academic institutions.
The two countries also decided to celebrate 2027 as the “Year of Culture and Tourism between India and Italy”.
They welcomed the signing of Memorandums of Understanding on cooperation for the development of the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal in Gujarat and on recruitment of nurses from India.
Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and stressed the importance of developing connectivity infrastructure through concrete projects.
The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the Indo-Pacific, India-European Union relations and ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Europe.
Prime Minister Modi underscored the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for peaceful resolution of conflicts.
The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Meloni for the warm hospitality extended during the visit and invited her to visit India at a mutually convenient time.
