The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, will visit India from May 4th to 6th. The first mission to India by an Italian Foreign Minister since 2012 represents an important step in the process of relaunching the multi-faceted bilateral partnership.
The Minister will first pay a visit to Bangaluru, the technological and scientific center of the subcontinent, where the newly established Consulate General of Italy will be inaugurated. In the Indian “Silicon Valley”, the meetings will be mainly focused on the scientific and technological cooperation in the innovative sectors of startups and aerospace.
The Minister will also pay a visit to the Indian Space Research Organisation, accompanied by the President of ASI (Italian Space Agency), Giorgio Saccoccia, and meet with some young Italian entrepreneurs at the headquarters of an Italian-Indian start-up. The Bangaluru visit will end with a meeting at the Indian Institute of Science, one of the most prestigious Indian academic institutes, which for several years has been engaged in a scientific collaboration program – co-financed by the Farnesina – with Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, an Italian research centre of excellence.
On May 6th, Minister Di Maio will be in the capital city of New Delhi and pay tribute to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (Raj Ghat). Political consultations will follow between Minister Di Maio and his counterpart Jaishankar.
MinisterDi Maio shall also have a meeting with the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Goyal, focused on strengthening bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation, with a specific focus on the sectors of energy transition, connectivity, and sustainable mobility. Together with Minister Goyal, the Italian Foreign Minister will chair a meeting with the top managers of qualified Italian and Indian companies. During these talks, which will involve some prominent Italian companies with active projects or concrete potential interests in the Indian market, the investment opportunities offered by “Make in India”, the ambitious plan that aims to strengthen the Indian manufacturing sector, will be examined, opening it up to forms of industrial collaboration with foreign companies.
