Italian policymakers, including a minister, senator, defence secretary, and ex-diplomatic adviser to PM Gigorgia Meloni, recently visited New Delhi and Mumbai to strengthen maritime partnership with India. This initiative follows the Joint Action Plan adopted at the PM-level meeting in Brazil during the G20 summit in November. The focus is on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), also known as the ‘Cotton Route,’ connecting Italian and Indian ports in the Western Indian Ocean for trade, defense, and the blue economy. Italy aims to become India’s gateway to Europe through IMEEC.
In addition to maritime collaboration, Italy is interested in space cooperation with India and plans to open a section in the Italian consulate in Bangalore for this purpose. Italian Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso highlighted Italy’s interest in partnering with India to relaunch third and fourth generations of nuclear power systems. During his visit, Urso met with Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, Union minister dealing with space, and Union coal minister to explore cooperation in the critical minerals sector.
A conference on ‘Blue and Space Economy’ was recently held at the Villaggio Italia in Mumbai, inaugurated by Italian Ambassador to India Antonio Bartoli and attended by Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal and Urso. The Italian minister emphasized Italy’s history in space exploration, with the launch of the first Italian satellite in 1964. Francesco Talo, Meloni’s former diplomatic adviser, highlighted the natural partnership between India and Italy as peninsular countries. The goal is to connect ports in Italy with those in India, potentially expanding to include ports in Slovenia and Croatia.
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