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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, successful a associated op-ed crossed respective quality platforms connected Wednesday (May 20, 2026), outlined an expanded roadmap for practice betwixt the 2 countries crossed sectors, including trade, technology, energy, space, and security, against the backdrop of an emerging “Indo-Mediterranean” corridor.
“The narration betwixt India and Italy has present reached a decisive stage. In caller years, our ties person expanded with unprecedented momentum, evolving from a cordial relationship into a peculiar strategical concern grounded successful the values of state and democracy, and a communal imaginativeness for the future,” said Mr. Modi and Ms. Meloni successful the op-ed titled “A Strategic Partnership for the Indo-Mediterranean”.
“Both India and Italy are located astatine the precise bosom of 2 important hubs of the planetary economy—the Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean—regions that cannot beryllium viewed arsenic abstracted spheres, but alternatively arsenic progressively interconnected spaces,” it said.
“As a substance of fact, we are witnessing the emergence of what mightiness beryllium termed the Indo-Mediterranean, an important corridor for trade, technology, energy, information and ideas tying the Indian Ocean to Europe. It is precisely wrong this interconnected abstraction that our enslaved people evolves into a peculiar strategical partnership—one that bridges 2 continents and shapes caller planetary dynamics,” said the op-ed.
In this context, it added, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) represents a imaginativeness aimed astatine connecting the regions done modern transport and infrastructure, integer networks, vigor systems, and resilient proviso chains; and that India and Italy are besides committed to moving unneurotic with different partners to marque this imaginativeness a reality. In September 2023, the IMEC was announced connected the sidelines of G20 Summit successful Delhi.
“Our practice mirrors our shared consciousness that prosperity and information successful the 21st period volition beryllium shaped by the quality of nations to innovate, negociate vigor transitions, and fortify strategical sovereignty. To this end, we person committed to deepen and diversify our bilateral narration with a presumption to pursuing caller objectives and pooling our complementary strengths,” said Mr. Modi and Ms. Meloni.
Stating that India and Italy privation to scope and transcend the €20-billion bilateral commercialized people by 2029, the leaders said the Free Trade Agreement betwixt the European Union and India paves the mode successful the aforesaid direction. In absorption are defence & aerospace, cleanable technologies, machinery, automotive components, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, agri-food, tourism and different sectors.
“We purpose to forge a almighty synergy betwixt Italian design, manufacturing excellence, and world-class supercomputers—reflecting Italy’s presumption arsenic an concern powerhouse—and India’s accelerated economical growth, engineering talent, scale, and innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem with implicit 100 unicorns and 200,000 start-ups,” said the op-ed, adding that it would pb to co-creation of value.
“The increasing involvement of Italian businesses successful the accumulation for India and the expanding beingness of Indian industries successful Italy—numbering implicit 1,000 from some sides now—is a affirmative motion that volition fortify the integration of our proviso chains,” it said.
The op-ed besides highlighted practice successful integer infrastructure and artificial quality (AI).
“India’s Digital Public Infrastructure is already uncovering resonance with a ample fig of countries, peculiarly successful the Global South...Italy and India person agelong been collaborating to guarantee that AI improvement is liable and human-centred,” it said, emphasising that some countries spot AI arsenic a almighty instrumentality for inclusive development, peculiarly for the Global South.
“Our attack combines India’s integer standard with Italy’s ethical and concern expertise, ensuring exertion serves quality dignity. By sharing champion practices successful unafraid integer cooperation, capacity-building and resilient cyber infrastructure, we purpose to make an open, trustworthy and equitable integer abstraction successful which each federation tin signifier and payment from AI,” said Mr. Modi and Ms. Meloni.
They said the position forms the halfway of Italy’s G7 Presidency and outcomes of the AI Impact Summit 2026, held successful Delhi.
Technology cannot regenerate individuals oregon undermine their cardinal rights, nor should it beryllium utilized to manipulate nationalist statement oregon change antiauthoritarian processes, the leaders said.
The op-ed highlighted collaborations successful the fields of space, defence, information and strategical technologies, including information of captious maritime routes, renewable energy, hydrogen technologies, astute grids and resilient infrastructure. “Our collaboration on with different countries successful cardinal India-led initiatives—International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and Global Biofuels Alliance—is besides important successful this context,” said the op-ed.
The leaders said India’s values—such arsenic “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the satellite is 1 family)—find a earthy echo successful Italy’s humanist tradition, rooted successful the Renaissance, which highlights the dignity of each idiosyncratic and the powerfulness of civilization to unite peoples and societies.
