India and Italy have renewed their commitment to take forward the strategic initiative, India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), which aims to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe.

The ambitious project came up for a thorough review during talks between Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

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The Italian leader is on a two-day visit to India, accompanied by Minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini, and a large delegation of businesses, leading universities and research institutions.

Mr Jaishankar welcomed Italy’s appointment of a Special Envoy for IMEEC, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The two leaders reviewed the growing bilateral cooperation under the ambit of the Joint Strategic Action Plan (JSAP) 2025-29, which included the areas of trade and investment, defence and security, space, science and technology, clean energy transition, culture, tourism and people-to-people ties.

They expressed satisfaction at regular high-level interactions and exchanges, and noted the vast potential of cooperation between India and Italy in areas of AI, cyber, telecom, digital technologies, renewable energy, biofuels, education and academic collaborations, scientific research and mobility of youth and professionals, among others.

They reiterated their commitment to elevating the bilateral strategic partnership and ensuring concrete outcomes from the JSAP.

Dr Jaishankar and Mr Tajani exchanged views on global and regional developments of mutual interest.

Mr Tajani and Ms Bernini co-chaired the inaugural India-Italy Business, Science and Tech Forum, which seeks to facilitate tech collaborations, innovation, academic and R&D partnerships, co-production and joint business ventures.

The forum saw the participation of more than 100 Italian companies and counterpart Indian companies from four key sectors: Industry 4.0 and new technologies; infrastructure, transport and logistics; clean energy transition; and aerospace and defence.

Several B2B meetings were held to forge economic and commercial partnerships.
An Education, Science and Tech, Innovation Forum was also organized in which Heads of universities and research centres from both countries participated to explore research and innovation, and higher education collaborations.

The Ministry of Science and Technology and Italy’s Ministry of University and Research signed an MoU for cooperation in the field of scientific research.

Mr Tajani said: “We strongly believe in the Italy–India partnership, particularly in light of the Joint Strategic Action Plan aimed at strengthening our bilateral ties in key areas of cooperation.