New Delhi (NVI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte at a virtual summit on Friday to review the broad framework of the bilateral relationship and exchange views on major regional and global issues of mutual concern.
India and Italy share a warm and multifaceted relationship based on strong historical ties, common democratic traditions, rule of law and a shared goal of international peace and stability, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
India views Italy as an important member of the EU and values its positive contribution in furthering India-EU ties, MEA said.
India-Italy relations are marked by regular high-level exchanges which saw incoming visits by Italian Prime Ministers in 2017 and 2018. Bilateral trade stood at Euros 9.52 billion in 2019, it said.
Italy is India’s 5th largest trading partner in the EU, after Germany, Belgium, UK and France. Around 600 large Italian companies are active in India, covering varied sectors such as fashion and garments, textiles and textile machinery, automotive components, infrastructure, chemicals, energy confectionery, insurance etc.
Several Indian companies are also active in Italy. Several Government-to-Government and Private Sector agreements/MoUs are under finalization and will be concluded on this occasion, the ministry added.
-ARK
