India-Italy Relations

April 2023: Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India  accompanied by a business delegation visited Rome where he met dignitaries from the Government and Industry to further strengthen trade & economic partnership.

March 2023: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited India to raise bilateral relations as part of the G20 Foreign Minister’s meeting in New Delhi and focused on digital transition, emerging technologies, space, and cybersecurity among the strategic areas. Strategic Partnership and Startup Bridge announced, and MoU on Defence Cooperation was signed between India and Italy. 

2023: India-Italy Business Roundtable co-chaired by H.E. Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Italy and H.E. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, India where top CXOs of Italian and Indian companies participated

May 2022: Minister Di Maio held a bilateral meeting with CIM Shri Piyush Goyal and co-chaired a business round-table which saw participation of top business leaders particularly in the energy, defence, sustainable mobility, and infrastructure sectors. 

October 2021: Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Italy for 16th G20 Summit and met Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on the sidelines. Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition was announced and SOI on Textiles Cooperation was signed between India and Italy. 

July 2021: 21st Session of the India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation where a G2B interaction on energy transition was held on the margins with select companies from both sides. 

March 2021: Italy joined International Solar Alliance upgrading its partnership with India. 

Italy is India’s 4th largest trading partner in the European Union and the 17th largest FDI contributor to India. FDI inflows from Italy between April 2000 – March 2023 are reported at $ 3.3 Bn.

The key products exported from India are iron & steel, electrical machinery and equipment, nuclear reactors and boilers, aluminum articles, organic chemicals.

The key products imported are nuclear reactors & boilers, electrical machinery and equipment, organic chemicals, plastic & its articles, miscellaneous chemical products, optical, photographic cinematographic, measuring, checking precision, medical or precision, medical or surgical instrument.

An MoU was signed between Invest India and Italian Trade Agency (ITA) on the occasion of the state visit of Italy’s Prime Minister to India in October 2017. The partnership was renewed in November 2020 to promote mutual investments between the two countries.

A ”Permanent Digital Bilateral Platform of Economic Partnership” has been launched between India and Italy. The event is being coordinated jointly by Invest India, The Embassy of Italy, New Delhi and the Italian Trade Agency. The Digital Bilateral Platform was launched with the objective to further develop bilateral trade and promote ease of doing business and mutual investments.

With over 200,000 Indians, the Indian community in Italy is the third largest in Europe.

In December 2022, ITA Airways connected New Delhi to Rome with a direct flight. In February 2023, Air India started New Delhi to Milan nonstop direct flight.

Alappuzha, Kerala is often referred to as the "Venice of the East" and the "Venetian Capital" due to its stunning backwaters and houseboats.

The Italian Embassy Cultural Centre in New Delhi, which is an official institution of the Republic of Italy, actively promotes the understanding of Italian traditions and culture in India through a variety of cultural events. Its aim is to facilitate the exchange of ideas, arts, and sciences between Italy and India.

Minerva – The Italian Education Hub in India, is an initiative promoted and managed by the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the Patronage of the Embassy of Italy in New Delhi to provide international standard educational and vocational training courses for Indian students to enable them to secure placements in higher educational institutes in both Italy and India.

Bocconi University, located in Milan, Italy, is one of the leading private universities in the country. It boasts a sizable Indian student population, and offers various exchange programs and partnerships with some of India's top universities. IIFT - Indian Institute of Foreign Trade; IIM Ahmedabad; IIM Bangalore; IIM Calcutta; IIM Indore; IIM Kozhikode; IIM Lucknow; ISB - Indian School of Business; MDI Gurgaon -Management.
 

SDA Bocconi School of Management is among the leading business schools in Europe and has gained triple accreditation. It has a pan-Asian hub in Mumbai, India since 2012. It offers Executive Education and Postgraduate Programs designed by SDA Bocconi School of Management.

Istituto Marangoni is internationally recognised as one of the leading players offering higher education in the fields of fashion, design and art. They have extended its network, opening new schools in Firenze, Paris , London, Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Miami.

A bilateral agreement for cultural cooperation between the two countries was first signed in 1976. This was then renewed in 2004.