Modi, Meloni take India-Italy ties to next level, unveil major five-year strategic action plan on G20 sidelines

Rio de Janeiro: Narendra Modi and Giorgia Meloni, the prime ministers of India and Italy, unveiled a major five-year strategic action deal between the two countries at the G20 Summit in Brazil.

The announcement came after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the summit on November 19.

The plan, which runs from 2025 to 2029, focuses on ten areas. These include econom`ic ties, clean energy, defence, and easier movement of people between the two nations. India and Italy also plan to work together on global issues like climate change and supporting democratic values.


As per a document, the main pillars of the the action plan 2025-29, aimed at boosting bilateral ties, include:
economic cooperation

• investments
• energy transition
• space
• defence
• security
• migration
• mobility
• people-to-people exchanges.

Modi and Meloni, during their discussions, also agreed to work jointly on "multilateral and global platforms for upholding shared values of democracy, rule of law and sustainable development" India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Following the deal, Modi posted on X, "Our talks centred around deepening ties in defence, security, trade and technology. We also talked about how to boost cooperation in culture, education and other such areas."

It was Modi and Meloni's fifth meeting in the past two years. They had last come together in Italy's Puglia on the occasion of the G7 summit in June.

According to an MEA statement, "Following up on their discussions in Puglia, the two leaders reiterated their commitment to advancing the India-Italy strategic partnership and announced a joint strategic action plan 2025-29 which outlines their vision for the next five years."

Science & technology and new & emerging technologies also feature in the plan. The MEA said that the two sides will hold regular ministerial and official talks across numerous domains.

"Co-production, collaborations between respective industries and institutions, innovation and mobility would provide momentum and further depth to the bilateral partnership and benefit the economies and people of both countries," an MEA statement read.

Modi and Meloni also resolved to continue working together for the "implementation of plurilateral strategic initiatives, including the Global Biofuels Alliance and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor." It may be noted here that India and Italy are founding members of these alliances.