On the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and India, the India-Italy Summit on March 2023 marked a turning point in the relations between the two countries.
What is the history of India-Italy relationship?
Political Relations - Political relations between India and Italy were established in 1947.
A total of 15 MoUs covering areas like energy, media, finance, ship building were signed in the 2020 Summit.
Economic Relations - Italy is among India's top 5 trading partners in the EU.
Italy ranks 18th in FDI inflows in India during April 2000 to December 2020 with FDI inflow of US $ 3.02 billion during this period.
Italy and India have already intensified their collaboration, bringing bilateral trade to a record figure of around 15 billion euros in 2022, doubling the figure recorded in 2020.
India ranks 19th as country of origin of Italian imports, accounting for 1.2% of Italian imports.
Defence - Milan – a biennial naval exercise between India and Italy.
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tabar, the Navy’s Talwar-class Russian built frigate, has just concluded a two-day naval exercise with the Italian Navy in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
India - Italy Military Cooperation Group (MCG) is a forum established to boost defence cooperation between India and Italy.
Cultural Exchange - The agreement for cultural cooperation was signed in 1976.
There are around 10 Universities/higher education institutions in Italy with highly qualified faculties which conduct courses in Indian art, history and languages.
Science and Technology - An Agreement on S&T Co-operation exists since 1978.
A significant bilateral initiative under the S&T Cooperation Agreement is the India-Trento Programme for Advanced Research (ITPAR)
Indian Community in Italy - The Indian community in Italy (estimated at 2.5 lakhs including PIOs) is the third largest community of Indians in Europe after UK and the Netherlands.
Indian community is the 5th largest foreign community in Italy.
What are the recent developments in India-Italy relationship?
The elevation of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership has been established for the first time in 2023.
European-Indian strategic partnership aims to support the ongoing negotiations for Free Trade Agreements and agreements on investment protection and geographical indication protection.
In scientific research and technology, the partnership between the two countries has registered the launch of 13 new joint projects.
Mobility: There is a significant increase in the flow of Indian students and workers in Italy with Indian community exceeding a figure of 2,00,000 — the highest in the European Union.
