In bid to bolster economic partnership, India-Italy sign 15 agreements

India and Italy on Friday signed 15 agreements overlaying commerce and funding, shipbuilding and power, and unveiled a broad-ranging motion plan to reinforce their partnership by cooperating on connectivity, local weather change and counter-terrorism.

The signing of the agreements coincided with an hour-long digital summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte, throughout which the leaders pledged to work collectively on widespread challenges such because the Covid-19 pandemic.

The two sides are eager to take their financial partnership to the subsequent degree in new areas akin to inexperienced expertise, renewable power and superior manufacturing, officers mentioned. “The focus was on economic ties and Italy is very keen to diversify its supply chains and its outgoing investments, [and] to have a more substantive economic partnership with India,” mentioned Sandeep Chakravorty, secretary (Europe West) within the exterior affairs ministry.

Both international locations agreed to work intently on concluding a migration and mobility partnership settlement and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation on the earliest, Chakravorty mentioned. The mobility pact is essential for India’s plans to reinforce entry for its expert professionals in European international locations.

The much-delayed India-European Union (EU) free commerce settlement figured within the assembly, officers mentioned. A joint assertion issued after the assembly mentioned PM Modi and Conte burdened the necessity for “India and the EU to actively re-engage towards an early resumption of negotiations for mutually beneficial India-EU trade and investment agreements”.

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Among the 15 agreements signed on Friday was an MoU between Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA and India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to advertise co-financing, two MoUs between Fincantieri and Cochin Shipyard Limited overlaying design, shipbuilding and manufacturing, and repairs and refits of ships, two cooperation agreements between Snam and Adani Entreprises to advertise power transition and to arrange a CNG compressors manufacturing facility in India, and an MoU between Snam and Indian Oil Corporation to cooperate on fuel infrastructure improvement.

The 2020-24 motion plan for an enhanced bilateral partnership relies on 4 pillars – political dialogue on the bilateral degree and coordination in multilateral boards, financial engagement, partnership in science and expertise, and cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. The two sides will create a mechanism chaired by the international ministers to observe up the motion plan yearly.

PM Modi and Conte, the joint assertion mentioned, condemned all types of terrorism and backed a complete method to forestall and fight terrorism. They agreed to reinforce the change of experience and capability constructing to counter-terrorism.

They additionally emphasised the necessity to increase defence engagement via higher two-way collaboration and expertise cooperation, and co-development and co-production of navy {hardware}. They additionally agreed to consolidate defence ties to reinforce the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping actions.

The joint assertion mentioned PM Modi and Conte burdened the significance of the Indo-Pacific as a “fundamental area for connecting Asia and Europe”, and mentioned each side will “support all connectivity initiatives based on internationally recognised norms and standards, good governance, rule of law, inclusiveness, transparency and level playing field”.

The assembly, the newest in a string of digital engagements by PM Modi after his profitable summits with Australia and the EU, was a part of New Delhi’s enhanced deal with Europe in opposition to the backdrop of a worldwide rebalancing within the post-Covid-19 situation. Leading EU gamers, akin to Germany and France, have additionally signalled a higher curiosity within the Indo-Pacific area.

Both international locations are eager to place behind the 2012 killing of two Indian crew members of a fishing boat off the coast of Kerala by Italian marines guarding an oil tanker Enrica Lexie, an incident that took bilateral ties to an all-time low.

“Barring the brief hiatus caused by Enrica Lexie incident for some time, the two countries have always enjoyed a cordial relationship since they established political ties in 1947,” mentioned an individual who declined to be named.

India sees Italy, the third-largest EU financial system after Brexit with strong manufacturing, technological and design capabilities, as a robust accomplice for the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiatives.

Italy is presently India’s fifth largest buying and selling accomplice within the EU, and bilateral commerce was price 9.52 billion Euros in 2019. India, nonetheless, ranks 16th as nation of origin for Italian imports, and specialists consider there’s potential for appreciable development.