Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Italy for the G7 Summit, Indian Ambassador Vani Rao said, “we are looking at linking the defence industries of the two countries and also maritime cooperation.”
The G7 summit will take place at the luxurious Borgo Egnazia resort in Italy’s Apulia region from June 13-15.
While speaking to ANI, the envoy said India’s relationship with Italy is growing, and the high level of political engagement will continue to give direction to the relationship in the coming years.
“The relationship with Italy is growing. Last year it was elevated to what is called a strategic partnership.Opportunities and areas where we can see more engagement is the political dialogue. The two leaders have met already three times. This high level of political engagement will continue to give direction to the relationship in the next years…Defence and security will be an important pillar that we want to build here. We are looking at cooperation in critical technologies. We are looking at linking the defence industries of the two countries and also maritime cooperation…,” she said.
In terms of trade ties between the nations, Rao said that the interaction has to be something more contemporary to look at supply chains.
“In trade and investment, we want to again move away from the traditional goods and services-based interaction to something more contemporary to look at supply chains,” she said.
On the Indian diaspora there, as well as the focus of Italy in terms of its bilateral partnership with India, the envoy said, “We have a big Indian diaspora here, but we do not have a very diverse group in terms of the fields they are working in… The last one is our strategic convergences and outlooks. Italy has been focusing more on the Indo-Pacific. They have joined some of the key strategic initiatives which India is leading, including India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, the Global Biofuels Alliance and International Solar Alliance…”
The Indian Ambassador further said that PM Modi will also follow up on some of the key issues that were there during India’s G20 presidency.
“It is an important visit. Firstly, it is an opportunity for the prime minister to play an important role in one of the global platforms. It also marks continuity because he had participated in the G7 summit last year,” the ambassador said.
Notably, India has been invited to the G7 Summit as an outreach country.
PM Modi is set to visit Italy to participate in the annual summit of G7 advanced economies, marking his first international trip since beginning his third consecutive term in office.
The G7 summit will take place at the luxurious Borgo Egnazia resort in Italy’s Apulia region from June 13-15.
India’s participation at this G7 Summit acquires particular salience in the context of India’s presidency of the G20 in last September, where India took a leading role in building global consensus on several contentious issues.
India has so far organized two sessions of the Voice of the Global South Summit, which have been aimed at bringing the interests, priorities, and concerns of the Global South on the global stage.