Piyush Goyal meets Italian Deputy PM, discusses strengthening India-Italy trade & economic partnership

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, who is on a two-day visit to Italy, met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Foreign Office Antonio Tajani in Rome on Wednesday and discussed ways to strengthen the India-Italy partnership.

The Ministers exchanged views on how the India-Italy trade & economic partnership can be leveraged for growth across diverse sectors. During the meeting, both Ministers expressed happiness over elevation of the bilateral relations to the level of Strategic Partnership following the recent state visit of the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to India, India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Thursday.

The Italian Deputy Prime Minister suggested the formation of a Joint Working Group in strategic areas like space, technology, defence, and agriculture to follow up on the important developments under these spheres.

Expressing satisfaction at the high growth in bilateral trade between India and Italy, which has reached around US$ 16 Billion in 2022, they resolved to expand it further. The two leaders agreed to convene the next session of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) in Rome in September 2023.

Commerce and Industry Minister Goyal briefed Deputy PM Tajani on the progress made on India-EU FTA negotiations. The Ministers underlined the importance of achieving a free, balanced and fair Free Trade Agreement and hoped that it would be concluded soon.

Goyal briefed Mr. Tajani about India’s G-20 priorities and extended an invitation to him for the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in India in August 2023. Tajani, in turn, assured full support to make India’s G20 Presidency successful.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Goyal also placed emphasis on strengthening bilateral collaboration in the area of clean energy in order to achieve sustainability and lessen the adverse effects of climate change. He said that in order to successfully address the climate change challenge, affluent countries should make low-cost climate money and technology available to underdeveloped countries.

During the discussions, Tajani recommended enhancing the parliamentary friendship group diplomacy between the two nations' parliaments and investigating the potential for a cyber dialogue.

Later, the Italian Deputy PM accompanied the visiting Indian minister on a quick tour of the Farnesina art gallery and the Italian government's foreign ministry.