{"id":19357,"date":"2023-12-07T18:50:44","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T13:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/?p=19357"},"modified":"2023-12-18T12:00:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T06:30:24","slug":"india-italy-bilateral-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/07-12-2023\/india-italy-bilateral-relations","title":{"rendered":"India-Italy Bilateral Relations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ India &amp; Foreign Relations, International Organisations &amp; Groupings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">In Context<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The year 2023 has been a bright one considering the <strong>bilateral relations between Italy and India.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Recent visits of Italian PM to India<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni\u2019s meeting with the Indian Prime Minister during her visit to India in <strong>March <\/strong>2023 marked a breakthrough in the relationship between the two countries.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The joint statement set off a <strong>new framework of collaboration<\/strong> between <strong>Italy and India<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It provided a crucial impetus to the bilateral dialogue by identifying avenues of partnership in sectors such as <strong>defence, space and connectivity<\/strong> along with mobility and energy transition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>PM Meloni also visited India again in September for the <strong>G-20 summit.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Facets of Evolving Bilateral Relations&nbsp;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Common view on Indo-Pacific:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The partnership is rooted in a <strong>common view of the strategic challenges<\/strong> in today\u2019s world and the approach to face them.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Italy and India share the need for a free, safe and open Indo-Pacific.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As underlined by PM Meloni, Italy looks at the Indo-Pacific from the perspective of an<strong> \u201cenlarged Mediterranean\u201d,<\/strong> which forms a geostrategic unit with the Indian Ocean.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Italy sits at the <strong>centre of the Mediterranean Sea<\/strong> and acts as a natural <strong>bridge towards the Indo-Pacific<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Private players in Indo-Pacific:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Italian companies<\/strong> have excelled in devising <strong>cutting-edge solutions<\/strong> and are looking forward to increasing their presence in India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This collaboration will also <strong>enhance the stability <\/strong>of the Indo-Pacific region.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Priority for Maritime security:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In August 2023, during a tour of the Indo-Pacific, the<strong> Italian Navy scheduled a visit to Mumbai<\/strong> by the patrol vessel<strong> ITS Morosini<\/strong>, the first time in several years that an<strong> Italian Navy ship had docked in India<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On that occasion, the embassy co-organised a seminar on maritime security.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A common interest in <strong>maritime surveillance<\/strong> and containment of<strong> underwater threats<\/strong>, including those against pipelines and the network of digital interconnections, emerged during the event.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cooperation in the maritime domain will also be central to the relaunched <strong>collaboration in the defence sector<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade and connectivity:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A safe and open Indo-Pacific is a precondition for the further development of trade and connectivity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Connectivity: <\/strong>Italy and India are committed to <strong>strengthening infrastructure,<\/strong> both digital and physical.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Blue-Raman project <\/strong>(with an Italian company at its core) will bring the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean \u2014 Italy and India \u2014 closer in exchange of digital data through a submarine cable system.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)<\/strong>, launched during the G20 summit in Delhi also aims to open a new route between Asia and Europe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade: <\/strong>The free flow of trade through the Indo-Pacific is vital for Italy, an <strong>export-oriented country with 58 ports<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Italian companies, whose expertise in the maritime and railway sectors are recognised internationally are ready to play their part in the project.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Italian ports <\/strong>have the required characteristics to act as terminals for the IMEC and access points for Europe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bilateral trade between India &amp; Italy:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In recent years, bilateral trade has attained a record level. The trend for the current year seems to be more encouraging.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This increase is evident in the<strong> exchange of goods (and services)<\/strong>, with Italian machinery, automotive products, and luxury goods finding a growing market in India, while Indian products, like aluminium, steel, and iron, contribute to the supply chain for Italian manufacturing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>People-to-people contact:&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India and Italy are also looking forward to people-to-people contact.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During the Indian External Affairs Minister\u2019s visit to Italy, a <strong>Migration and Mobility Agreement <\/strong>was signed.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Italy already hosts <strong>one of the largest Indian communities in the European Union<\/strong> and has been enriched by a growing number of <strong>students and workers<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>agreement will provide a framework<\/strong> to improve mobility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Space:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Italy is looking with increasing interest at India\u2019s space initiatives \u2014 the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission has been recognised and celebrated by the Italian scientific community.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is also a growing Indian interest in deepening cooperation in this sector.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Collaboration has been underway for some time between the space agencies of the two countries, <strong>ASI (Italian Space Agency) and ISRO<\/strong>, <strong>government <\/strong>institutions, <strong>university research centres <\/strong>and <strong>aerospace companies.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A joint declaration recently signed between the heads of ASI and ISRO opens up new opportunities, particularly in <strong>earth observation<\/strong>, <strong>space exploration <\/strong>and <strong>helio-physics<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Issues<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lack of separate Frame works:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India does not have a specific trade agreement with Italy like it has for England . engagement with Italy is under the umbrella of EU<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Saddled by incidents:&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Incidents like treatment of Italian Marines, Cancellation of VVIP chopper deal have worn down the relationship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Way ahead<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Italy and India <strong>can also converge on multilateral issues<\/strong> because they share the need to frame and support a new global agenda.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Italy and India can play a mutually reinforcing role in addressing the<strong> urgent contemporary issues <\/strong>that primarily affect the Global South but also have a major impact on the <strong>security, stability and environmental sustainability<\/strong> of the entire world.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During its <strong>G20 Presidency, India<\/strong> demonstrated its proactive role on several issues such as debt relief for developing countries, reform of international financial institutions, sustainable development and climate change \u2014 this includes the Global Biofuels Alliance, which Italy has joined.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As <strong>Italy <\/strong>prepares to take over the <strong>Presidency of G7 in 2024<\/strong>, it recognises the worth of addressing the concerns of a large part of the world, following India\u2019s example.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Daily Mains Question<\/strong><br><\/span><strong>[Q] <\/strong>Italy looks at the Indo-Pacific from the perspective of an \u201cenlarged Mediterranean\u201d. Analyze, what are the facets of India\u2019s growing relationship with Italy?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Daily-Editorial-Analysis-7-12-2013-Etly.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Syllabus: GS2\/ India &amp; Foreign Relations, International Organisations &amp; Groupings In Context Recent visits of Italian PM to India&nbsp; Facets of Evolving Bilateral Relations&nbsp; Issues Way ahead Daily Mains Question[Q] Italy looks at the Indo-Pacific from the perspective of an \u201cenlarged Mediterranean\u201d. Analyze, what are the facets of India\u2019s growing relationship with Italy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19357"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19713,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19357\/revisions\/19713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}