India & Italy held a bilateral meeting on sidelines of G20 Summit in Brazil & unveiled 5-year Joint Strategic Action Plan outlining their vision for collaboration in key sectors, like defense, energy etc. 

Key Highlights

• Economic Cooperation: Both countries agreed to boost trade & investment in sectors like green technologies, pharmaceuticals, etc through Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation & Working Group on Food Processing.
• Connectivity: They agreed to cooperate on India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), a strategic initiative aimed at enhancing connectivity & trade between India, Middle East, and Europe.
• Science and Technology: They agreed on expanding cooperation in critical technologies like artificial intelligence & digitalization, with implementation of 2025-27 Executive Programme for Scientific & Technological Cooperation.
  • They also introduced a new Indo-Italian Innovation and Incubation Exchange Program to foster academic & industrial collaboration.
• Energy Transition:  Both countries agreed on organizing “Tech Summits” & strengthening alliances like Global Biofuels Alliance & International Solar Alliance. 
• Defense cooperation: They decided to hold annual Joint Defense Consultative (JDC) meetings & Joint Staff Talks (JST) to improve coordination in defense matters.
  • They also discussed establishing a Defense Industrial Roadmap to foster cooperation in defense manufacturing.