India, Italy unveil five-year strategic action plan

India and Italy unveiled an ambitious five-year strategic action plan outlining specific initiatives in key sectors of defence, trade, clean energy and connectivity following extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni.

The action plan 2025-29 identified 10 specific pillars for advancing bilateral engagement that included economic cooperation and investments, energy transition, space, defence, security, migration and mobility, people-to-people exchanges.

In the talks held on the sidelines of the G20 summit on late Monday, Modi and Meloni also resolved to work together on multilateral and global platforms for upholding shared values of democracy, rule of law and sustainable development, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

“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 said on X.

India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet, he added.

It was the fifth meeting between the two prime ministers in the last two years. Modi and Meloni had last met in June in Italy's Puglia on the occasion of 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 MEA said.

The two countries will pursue collaborations, programmes and initiatives in areas of trade, investment, science and technology, new and emerging technologies, clean energy, space, defence, connectivity and people-to-people linkages under the joint action plan, it said.

The MEA said India and Italy will hold regular ministerial and official dialogues across numerous domains.

“Co-production, collaborations between respective industries and institutions, innovation and mobility would provide momentum and further depth to the bilateral partnership and benefit the economies and people of both countries,” it said in a statement.

The MEA said Modi and Meloni also agreed to continue working together for the implementation of plurilateral strategic initiatives, including the Global Biofuels Alliance and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, of which they are founding members.