India a natural economic partner: Italian Deputy PM
Italy will co-host a meeting of foreign ministers from countries which are part of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) in the second half of the year, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said here today.
Italy calls the IMEEC as the ‘Cotton Road’ and sees it as a strategic route for trade, investment and growth.
Speaking at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s Italy-India Business, Science and Technology Forum, Tajani said the corridor offered a vital opportunity for global trade.
Tajani also said Italy is pushing for an early conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, which he expects will be signed soon.
“Italy and India are natural economic partners,” the Italian Deputy PM said, adding that the country was looking to invest more in India. “We want to export more in India, and we want more Indian investments in my country,” he said.
The IMEEC aims to boost trade and economic ties by linking India with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and onward to Europe.
In 2023-24, bilateral merchandise trade between India and Italy reached $11.47 billion, with India’s exports to Italy totalling $6.44 billion and imports from Italy amounting to $5.03 billion.
Innovation, AI, super computers, space technology and defence are a few sectors which have potential for joint partnerships and both countries should work to attract investments in these areas, Tajani highlighted.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said there was further scope for expansion in the bilateral trade between India and Italy.
Goyal added that the Indian economy was slated to grow from $4 trillion to $30-35 trillion by 2047. There are untapped newer areas like fashion, luxury goods, food processing, pharmaceuticals, tourism, green technology, advanced manufacturing and automobiles, Goyal added.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar flagged concerns over growing unpredictability in global political and economic order, especially the weaponisation of economic activities and over-concentration of manufacturing.
He said India had been working closely with like-minded partners to build such resilient and trusted partnerships in recent years.
“For us, Italy ranks high in that list. In many sectors, there is a natural complementarity that we need to exploit,” he said.
He also referred to the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. He said the IMEEC would create a truly new global axis for economies, energy resources and communications.
