UPDATE 1-Italy and India set to upgrade ties during Modi's visit to Rome

Italy and India will seek to reinforce diplomatic ​and trade ties during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‌visit ​to Rome by elevating their relationship to that of a special strategic partnership, an Italian government official said on Tuesday. Like other European countries, Italy has looked to India ‌as an ally during a period of geopolitical upheaval. The European Union earlier this year concluded a long-delayed trade deal with India, partly aimed at reducing its reliance on the United States.

Modi's trip is his first bilateral visit to Italy, following his attendance at a ‌G7 summit in June 2024 and a G20 gathering three years earlier. He will meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ‌on Wednesday at the 17th-century Villa Doria Pamphili. "This visit will focus on how to boost India-Italy cooperation, especially focusing on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)," Modi wrote on his account on social media platform X after landing in Rome.

IMEC, based on a memorandum signed in 2023 between partners including the European ⁠Union ​and the United States, is ⁠a project to develop trade routes connecting India to the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Gulf with Europe. BOOSTING TRADE

The two leaders will adopt a joint ⁠declaration to strengthen their partnership, including through annual heads-of-government summits and a target of reaching 20 billion euros ($23.2 billion) in bilateral trade by 2029, the ​official, who asked not to be named, said. Bilateral trade totalled more than 14 billion euros in 2023, according to ⁠the website of the Italian embassy in New Delhi.

The G20 members, which established a strategic partnership in 2023, have already expanded cooperation in sectors including scientific ⁠research, ​trade and artificial intelligence, the official said. Modi and Meloni will attend a working lunch with senior executives from leading Italian and Indian industrial groups, who will exchange views on how to further strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Agreements will also be ⁠signed covering maritime transport, agriculture, higher education, critical minerals, museum cooperation and the fight against economic and financial crime, the official said. Meloni ⁠and Modi will also discuss ⁠major international issues including the Middle East, Ukraine and security in the Indo-Pacific.

Modi said that he had also scheduled a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and would visit the headquarters ‌of the United Nations ‌Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). ($1 = 0.8610 euros)

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