As part of India’s ongoing global diplomatic outreach against terrorism, an All-Party Parliamentary Delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad met with Stefania Craxi, President of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Italian Senate, during a visit to Rome on Wednesday.
The delegation’s visit to Italy follows the conclusion of their diplomatic mission in France, where they briefed French lawmakers on India’s response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and stressed the need for global unity against cross-border terrorism, particularly state-sponsored terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
The multi-party team, which includes Daggubati Purandeswari and Samik Bhattacharya (BJP), Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena-UBT), Ghulam Ali Khatana and Amar Singh (Congress), former minister MJ Akbar, and Ambassador Pankaj Saran, aims to engage international allies on counterterrorism cooperation and raise awareness about the persistent threat India faces.
In Rome, the delegation continued this dialogue with Italian lawmakers, building upon the broad support received in Paris. Ravi Shankar Prasad noted that Italian senators strongly endorsed India’s position and emphasized the shared responsibility of democratic nations to confront terrorism with a united front.
“We are very grateful to the Vice Chair of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee, along with all her colleagues in the Senate… They totally agreed that France and India and the whole democratic world need to speak in one voice in the fight against terrorism emanating from Pakistan and supported by the State of Pakistan,” said Prasad.
The visit has also been marked by emotional expressions of solidarity and friendship between the delegations, highlighting the strength of India’s bilateral ties with both France and Italy.
Jacqueline Eustache-Brinio, Vice-President of the India-France Friendship Group in the French Senate, described terrorism as a “shared threat” and affirmed unwavering French support for India’s cause:
“It is important to combat terrorism… a menace which has affected India, Europe, and France. We assure our full support for India’s fight against terrorism.”
With stops already completed in France, and now Italy, the delegation is expected to continue engaging more global partners in the coming days as part of India’s strategic outreach to counter Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and reinforce international collaboration in securing democratic societies.
