- A Historic Meeting in Mumbai: The visit of Amerigo Vespucci provided the perfect setting for discussions between Indian and Italian ministers on connectivity and collaboration following the recent G20 agreements.
- Strategic Focus on IMEC: Mumbai and Trieste emerged as pivotal nodes for the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, underlining the shared maritime importance of India and Italy.
- Evolving Industrial Partnerships: The relationship between the two countries is shifting from trade to innovation, with joint efforts in energy, defence, and the blue economy taking centre stage.
Sarbananda Sonowal, India’s Minister of Ports, visited a little piece of Italy, the “Villaggio Italia,” set up at the Indira Docks. He was welcomed with a colourful array of Maharashtra’s traditional hospitality for esteemed guests, featuring drums, shehnai, and dancers in conventional Maharashtrian costumes. Minister Adolfo Urso, Italy’s Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, along with Ambassador Antonio Bartoli, Italy’s Ambassador to India, and other naval dignitaries, received him against the majestic backdrop of the Amerigo Vespucci.
The meeting between ministers from Meloni’s and Modi’s cabinets, following their recent encounter at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro, where they signed the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025–2029, could not have been more fitting. Mumbai has been India’s Gateway for centuries, particularly for European powers. Known as “the city that never sleeps,” Mumbai has also been the country’s commercial capital, with its port functioning as a lifeline since colonial times. Against the backdrop of the Amerigo Vespucci, the most majestic ship in the Italian Navy, the ministers discussed connectivity and collaboration between India and Italy.
The arrival of the Vespucci in Mumbai coincided with a particularly poignant moment for the city, as November 26 marked the anniversary of the 2008 terrorist attacks. The Italian delegation stayed at two hotels targeted during those attacks, expressing informal solidarity with India. Over the decades, both countries have stood united against terrorism, and it is widely recognised that the 26/11 attacks served as a blueprint for future acts of terrorism against the West, most recently the October 7 attacks on Israel.
Mumbai is also a key hub for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), where Italy serves as Europe’s natural terminal. Both countries, peninsulas that dominate their respective oceans—Italy in the Mediterranean and India in the Indian Ocean—share significant maritime roles. At the recent Med Dialogues, Prime Minister Meloni described the port city of Trieste as a natural partner for IMEC in the Mediterranean. Vespucci’s presence in Mumbai further underscored Italy’s and Trieste’s importance in the global maritime economy.
Several sessions were held at the “Villaggio Italia” on the blue economy, space economy, investment opportunities in Italy, and IMEC. A delegation from Leonardo, led by Enrico Savio, General Manager of Leonardo International, emphasised the importance of the India-Italy partnership in space and defence. Savio highlighted the potential for joint development between the two nations, with India renowned for its engineering expertise and Italy for its innovation and design—natural partners for addressing opportunities in Africa and Asia.
Minister Urso underlined how the partnership has evolved from a simple commercial relationship to a robust technological and industrial collaboration. The Italy-India relationship is advancing rapidly, with Telecom Sparkle making strides in the Blue Raman high-speed data network—a development coinciding with Vespucci’s visit. Key areas such as renewable energy, the blue economy, space, defence, and supply chain resilience—particularly in metallurgy—are becoming the foundation of this partnership.
“Producing in India can certainly mean meeting the growing demand of the domestic market with Italian products, perhaps in partnership with Indian companies, but it also means producing for nearby markets in the wider Indo-Pacific area,” Minister Urso emphasised.
For Italy, India represents the ideal partner for its strategic outreach into the Indo-Pacific. Despite the region’s complexity, people-to-people connections between the two countries are natural, as demonstrated by the warm reception of Vespucci’s mission. After a packed schedule in Mumbai, Minister Urso travelled to Delhi, where he met Indian entrepreneurs from various sectors, including e-vehicles and innovative unicorns.
The visit of the Amerigo Vespucci shone a spotlight on Italy in India. Meanwhile, the Italian delegation, led by Minister Urso and Undersecretary Matteo Perego di Cremnago and accompanied by representatives from Italian companies, began consolidating the vision set forth by Prime Ministers Modi and Meloni for the next five years. Mission accomplished, it was bittersweet to watch the Vespucci sail away from Mumbai after such a successful visit.
(A version of this article, by Vas Shenoy, Chief Representative of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Italy, has been published on Formiche.net)
