India-Italy Economic Cooperation Strengthened

On 11th December 2025, India and Italy signed the protocol of the India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation to outline a roadmap for strengthening bilateral economic ties.

Key Points

Industry Agreements: Several industry-level agreements across multiple sectors were also witnessed during the signing, reflecting growing business-to-business engagement.
Focus Areas: India emphasised the need to expand bilateral trade, increase investments, strengthen industrial linkages and leverage the broader India–European Union engagement to unlock new opportunities.
India-EU Trade Talks: Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement, with India reiterating its position in favour of a fair, equitable and balanced agreement.
Strategic Action Plan: The two countries are taking forward the Italy-India Joint Strategic Action Plan in areas such as trade, investment, research, innovation and people-to-people exchanges.
Sectoral Cooperation: Auto components, textiles and leather goods were identified as key sectors for collaboration, with Indian companies also showing interest in research and development, technology, sports goods, defence, space, agriculture and food processing.
Sports and Global Events: India highlighted its growing focus on sports, noting its plans to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and prepare a bid for the 2036 Olympic Games.
Italy’s Perspective: Italy underscored India’s importance as a strategic economic partner and stressed closer cooperation in innovation, research and education.