Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed Wednesday to upgrade bilateral ties to a “Special Strategic Partnership” after talks at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphilj, marking a new step in the rapid expansion of relations between the two countries.
Meloni described the day as “historic for relations between our nations,” saying Italy and India are now “closer than ever.”
It is Modi’s first bilateral visit to Italy after taking part in the G7 summit in Borgo Egnazia in June 2024 and the G20 in Rome in October 2021. It is also the first official mission to Rome by an Indian prime minister in 26 years.
What they’re saying: “Now Italy and India are closer than ever,” Meloni said during a joint press conference with Modi.
- “I would not consider it an understatement to call this day historic for relations between our nations,” she added.
- Meloni said the visit marked “the apex of a path” built “with consistency and determination” to bring bilateral relations “to the highest level ever.”
- The Italian prime minister also highlighted the political relationship built through more than seven meetings with Modi in the past three and a half years, describing it as based on “respect” and “mutual trust.”
- Modi said before the meetings that the visit would focus on strengthening cooperation between India and Italy, “with particular attention to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).”
- The Indian prime minister also said the two sides would review the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029 and confirmed meetings with President Sergio Mattarella and Meloni.
- Modi also visited the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), framing the stop as part of India’s commitment to multilateralism and global food security.
Why it matters: The meeting is the seventh between Meloni and Modi in three years, underscoring an intense and continuous bilateral political dialogue.
- Italy and India launched a Strategic Partnership in 2023 and later a Joint Strategic Action Plan for 2025-2029.
- The two leaders are adopted a joint declaration elevating relations to a Special Strategic Partnership.
- The visit brings together bilateral dossiers and international issues, including the Middle East, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific security.
The big picture: The Rome meeting fits into a broader sequence of institutional contacts between Italy and India.
- Recent Italian missions to New Delhi include Defense Minister Guido Crosetto in April, Enterprise and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso in February 2025, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in December 2024 and April 2025.
- Italian governative sources framed the current phase as one in which political dialogue has reached an unprecedented level of intensity, enabling a significant expansion of bilateral cooperation in strategic areas.
Zoom in: The upgrade. The joint declaration formally elevates Italy-India relations to a Special Strategic Partnership.
- The document identifies new areas of bilateral cooperation and further strengthens the framework of the partnership between the two countries.
- Among the main objectives highlighted during the visit:
- institutionalizing annual meetings at head-of-government level;
- raising bilateral trade from around €14 billion to €20 billion by 2029;
- strengthening cooperation linked to the EU-India free trade framework;
- launching the Italy-India Year of Culture and Tourism in 2027;
- strengthening INNOVIT India to promote dialogue between the two countries’ innovation ecosystems.
- Meloni said the two economies are “highly complementary,” pointing to the combination of India’s scale, digital infrastructure and innovation ecosystem with Italy’s industrial and manufacturing base.
The cooperation agenda. The partnership now spans defense, scientific research, trade, investment, human-centric artificial intelligence, counterterrorism and the fight against human trafficking.
- Meloni said the two sides discussed expanding cooperation across sectors including advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, energy, space economy, defense, critical minerals, agri-food, maritime transport, tourism and culture.
- She also stressed ongoing Italy-India coordination on artificial intelligence, arguing that innovation, regulation and security “must move together” to ensure AI remains human-centered.
- The Italian premier linked that effort to the Italian G7 presidency and international AI initiatives, saying Rome and New Delhi are working “on the same wavelength.”
- The two leaders also discussed major geopolitical issues, including Ukraine, the Iranian crisis, freedom of navigation and Indo-Pacific security.
- Meloni said Italy and India share support for a “free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific” and described the IMEC corridor as a strategic initiative capable of unlocking “extraordinary potential” for trade and connectivity between Europe, the Middle East and India.
Follow the money: The two leaders are also taking part in a working lunch with senior figures from major Italian and Indian industrial groups.
- The discussion is aimed at exchanging views on how to further strengthen economic, commercial and investment cooperation.
What’s being signed. The agreements exchanged in Rome reflected the widening scope of the Italy-India relationship, moving well beyond traditional political dialogue into industrial policy, strategic supply chains and labor mobility.
- The most politically significant package focused on defense cooperation, with the two governments adopting a roadmap for collaboration between their defense industries alongside a joint declaration of intent aimed at strengthening bilateral industrial ties in the sector.
- Another key agreement targeted critical minerals — an increasingly strategic area for both Europe and India as governments seek to secure industrial supply chains linked to energy transition and advanced manufacturing.
- The two sides also signed agreements on maritime transport and ports, agricultural cooperation and collaboration between Italy’s Guardia di Finanza and India’s Directorate of Enforcement on economic and financial crimes.
- One of the more unusual agreements focused on the development of the maritime heritage complex in Lothal, Gujarat, while another declaration aimed at facilitating the mobility of Indian nurses to Italy pointed to growing labor and demographic pressures inside the Italian economy.
Zoom out. Meloni announced that 2027 will be the Italy-India year of culture and tourism, framing the initiative as part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between “two ancient civilizations.”
- The visit also included the signing of multiple agreements aimed at broadening bilateral cooperation across economic, industrial and cultural sectors.
Bottom line: Meloni framed the new phase in Italy-India relations around the Hindi word “Parishram” — hard work and constant commitment.
- “Parishram safalta ki kunji hai,” she said at the close of the joint press conference: “Hard work is the key to success.”
- The message from Rome was that Italy and India see their upgraded partnership not as a symbolic step, but as the result of years of sustained political, economic and strategic coordination.
