India-Italy ties at an inflection point

INDIA-ITALY RELATIONS ARE on an upswing.

- JYOTI VIJ

This is evident from the fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, five times over the last two years. These were apart from other high-level engagements and the visit of Italian deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani, and the accompanying business delegation, furtherance of bilateral exchanges.

Both India and Italy were the seats of flourishing ancient civilizations. The discovery of Roman gold and silver coins in the Indian subcontinent shows that trade between the two countries goes back thousands of years. In the modern era too, bilateral trade has been flourishing. In FY24, it was $14.6 billion, with India's exports being $8.8 billion and imports $5.8 billion. This makes Italy our fourth largest trading partner in EU after Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Cumulative FDI from Italy into India during April 2000-September 2024 was $3.51 billion. In terms of FDI inflows into India, Italy's rank is 19. The top sectors attracting FDI from Italy are automobile (29.8%), trading (17.1%), industrial machinery (5.6%), services (5.1%), and electrical equipment (4.6%).

While about 600 Italian companies operate in India, nearly 100 Indian companies are present in Italy. Currently, Indian investments in Italy are in the region of $400 million. Indian companies in Italy are primarily in information technology, pharmaceuticals, electronics, manufacturing, and engineering sectors.