From the EU–India free trade agreement to industrial cooperation and critical mineral supply chains, New Delhi sees Rome as a complementary long-term partner. Central to India’s vision remains the principle of strategic autonomy, coupled with diversified partnerships.
Why she matters: Vani Rao is India’s Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the Rome-based UN agencies since April 2024, a senior career diplomat with three decades of experience.
- She previously led the Americas Division of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (2020–2024), overseeing relations with the United States, Canada and the Quad, placing her at the center of India–US strategic engagement.
- Her earlier roles include ambassador to Finland and Estonia and Deputy Chief of Mission in Israel, reflecting a career focused on key geopolitical and multilateral partnerships.
Q: The EU–India Free Trade Agreement is entering a decisive phase and is increasingly framed not just as a trade deal, but as a strategic pillar of the broader EU–India partnership. From India’s perspective, where does Italy fit into this framework? Beyond tariffs and market access, in which sectors — industrial, technological or infrastructural — do you see the greatest potential for Italy to emerge as a long-term partner rather than a traditional exporter?
- The India-EU Free Trade Agreement is not just for increasing exports – it is aframework through which India and the 27 EU member states are building a long–term economic collaboration.
- The India-EU Mobility Framework and the Defence and Security partnership which were concluded alongwith FTA, add depth and diversity to this collaboration.
- It is an acknowledgement of India’s democratic credentials, our consistent economic growth, our position as the fourth largest economy, and our aspirations to become a developed economy by 2047.
- India’s large population of 1.4 billion and growing consumption attract many foreign companies. After the FTA was concluded, the Italian business stakeholders welcomed the elimination and phased reduction of tariffs on specific items which would make Italian exports more competitive.
- Italy, one of the most industrialised nations, has well known capabilities in engineering, design, industrial machinery, agri-food etc. These strengths complement India’s development agenda, our growing manufacturing sector, skilled workforce and STEM talent.
- One good example is the recent partnership between Italy’s Leonordo S.p.A and India’s Adani Defence and Aerospace, for manufacturing helicopters, their indigenisation, and setting up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul centre (MRO) in India.
Q: Which areas could enable Italy to emerge as a long-term partner rather than a traditional exporter?
A: Firstly – there is merit in co-manufacturing and localising Italian products in India, to make them more attractive for our growing middle class of more than 400 million and aspirational youth. The federal government and our states offer many incentives for setting up production facilities, especially for exports.
- Secondly, given India’s massive investments in modernising and building infrastructure, connectivity, healthcare and other key sectors –Italian firms, can partner with Indian companies to bid for projects and tenders.
- Thirdly – R&D Centers can be setup in India, deploying our English speaking engineering & tech talent, backed by a robust intellectual property regime.
- Fourthly, mobility of professionals, researchers, innovators. We have complementarities – demand for skilled workforce in Italy, and our young talent. Internships and post-study work opportunities for Indian students enrolled in Italian universities can benefit Italian companies.
Q: How does New Delhi interpret this phase of closer engagement with Washington, particularly in light of broader global fragmentation, and how does India balance deeper economic ties with the US while preserving strategic autonomy and diversified partnerships with Europe?
A: Just like Italy, India deeply values its strategic partnership with the US – which is multifaceted, involves many stakeholders on both sides.
- We maintained a regular high-level and ministerial dialogue with the Trump administration – a Trade Deal was one of the key outcomes for both sides. It is significant, as the US is our largest trading partner, with bilateral trade almost at $200 billion. Investments are growing in both directions.
- India’s deeper commercial ties with the US and the EU, are not exclusive goals. Like the EU, India is diversifying its trade and building resilient supply chains. To mitigate uncertainties in a geopolitical context, India concluded many trade deals in the last two years – with UAE, UK, Oman, New Zealand and also with EFTA countries.
- As the world’s fourth largest economy, naturally our global trade footprint is growing and we attract investments from many countries. We need access to critical technologies for which both US and EU are crucial partners.
- Strategic autonomy in foreign policy has guided India to seek partnerships based on our national political, economic and security interests.
Q: Critical minerals have become a central element of global economic and strategic security. In this context, India’s External Affairs Minister and Italy’s Foreign Minister were both in Washington in recent days to participate in the Critical Minerals Summit, underlining a growing convergence among partners on this issue. How does India see its role in reshaping critical mineral supply chains — especially in reducing over-concentration and strengthening resilience — and what kind of cooperation does it envision with countries such as Italy, the European Union and the United States in this domain?
- For India’s long term economic development and national security, critical minerals are essential for domestic manufacture and self-reliance in clean energy technologies, high-tech electronics, EVs, telecom and defence sectors. For a clean energy transition, sustainability, and other goals, we need secure critical minerals supply chains – especially lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths.
- We announced a National Critical Minerals Mission in January 2025 for 2024to 2031 as a strategic blueprint for mining, energy security, investments, innovation and for technology independence.
- We are encouraging domestic manufacturing of critical and rare earth minerals, developing Rare Earth Corridors and pursuing responsible commerce practices.
- We have bilateral agreements with Australia, UAE, Argentina, Chile, and others for exploration and acquisition. India is a member of platforms such as the India-EU Trade Technology Council, Mineral Security Partnership, Quad, and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, in which critical minerals is a focus area.
- Our Foreign Minister attended the recent Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington D.C where India supported structured international cooperation to reduce risks in global critical mineral supply chains, which are very concentrated. We need to work together to ensure secure, diversified and resilient access to critical minerals.
