India-Italy Elevate Ties to Special Strategic Partnership During PM Visit

India and Italy elevate bilateral ties from Strategic Partnership to Special Strategic Partnership during the Indian Prime Minister’s official visit to Italy. The visit is for cooperation in trade, defence, maritime security, connectivity, innovation, culture, and mobility.

India–Italy Special Strategic Partnership:

Dimension	Key Details
Partnership Upgrade	India and Italy have elevated bilateral ties from Strategic Partnership to Special Strategic Partnership.
Trade Target	India and Italy have set a target to expand bilateral trade to €20 billion by 2029.
FTA Linkage	The trade target is supported by the India-EU Free Trade Agreement.
Defence Industrial Roadmap	The defence industrial roadmap provides for co-design, co-development, and co-production of defence platforms.
Maritime Security Dialogue	India and Italy will launch a Maritime Security Dialogue for increased maritime cooperation.
IMEC	India and Italy reaffirm commitment to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
IMEC Objective	IMEC, announced in 2023, provides for linking India, the Middle East, and Europe through an integrated rail and shipping corridor.
Italy’s IMEC Role	Italy’s Mediterranean ports are potential European endpoints for IMEC.
Innovation Hub	INNOVIT India has been announced as an innovation hub to connect startups and university research in AI, semiconductors, quantum computing, and fintech.
Culture and Tourism	2027 has been declared as the Year of Culture and Tourism between India and Italy.
National Maritime Heritage Complex	An MoU provides for Italy’s participation in developing the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal, Gujarat.
Other Cooperation	Other cooperation areas comprise space cooperation, critical minerals, mobility agreement for Indian nurses, and Social Security Agreement.
EU Trade Position	Italy is India’s 4th largest trading partner in the European Union.
Bilateral Trade	Bilateral trade between India and Italy has reached US$13.76 billion in 2024–25.
Diaspora	Around 1.87 lakh Indians reside in Italy.
Strategic Action Plan	The Joint Strategic Action Plan, 2025–2029 provides for cooperation across strategic, economic, technological, and people-centric sectors.