From the UN headquarters, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced an upcoming visit to India to strengthen what he called a “strategic, political, and economic partnership.”
In New York, Minister Tajani met his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, focusing on the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific.
- In the same context, sidelines of UNGA80, he also held a bilateral with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss trade and investment.
- Diplomatic sources noted: “These interactions are never accidental but always strategically planned: the relationship with New Delhi is one of Rome’s current and future priorities.”
Why it matters: The political alignment is translating into tangible industrial cooperation — most recently in the space sector.
- On September 22, the Aerospace Roadshow 2025 kicked off in New Delhi, led by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) with the support of ICE, the Italian Embassy, and the Consulates in India.
- The mission, spanning Bangalore, Hyderabad, and New Delhi, included 13 Italian companies (Leonardo Space Thales Alenia Space, Officina Stellare S.p.A, Elital Space & Defence, Aresys, Stellar Project, Vanzetti Engineering, Leaf Space, EIE GROUP Srl, ELT Group, Nano-Tech SpA, Zoppas Industries Heating Element Technologies, Merin).
- Goal: build long-term partnerships with key players of India’s space revolution, made possible by IN-SPACe’s liberalisation reforms.
- Space cooperation is a core pillar of the Italy–India Joint Strategic Action Plan (2024–2029).
Geopolitical frame. Rome and New Delhi share various visions, for example the call for reforming the UN and its institutions.
- Italy is pushing to accelerate negotiations on the EU–India Free Trade Agreement, seen as crucial to anchor India closer to the West.
The Italian vision: PM Giorgia Meloni and PM Narendra Modi have already met five times since she took office, with frequent direct contacts (including calls).
- Their most recent exchange, on September 10, focused precisely on the EU–India agreement.
- Rome’s strategy combines industrial cooperation (space, defence, machinery, biomedical, agritech), investments, and multilateral diplomacy.
- The Indo-Mediterranean Italy–India axis is consolidating as part of the broader Western strategy to recognize New Delhi’s central role in containing China and managing global crises.
(Photo: X, @drjaishankar)
