INDIA-ITALY RELATIONS

Why in the news?

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the Migration and Mobility Agreement between India and Italy.

More about the news

• Key provisions of the agreement:
  • Indian students, after completing academic/vocational training in Italy, may be granted temporary residence for up to 12 months.
  • For workers, the Italian side has reserved a quota for non-seasonal and seasonal Indian workers for 2023, 2024, and 2025 under the current Flows Decree.
  • The agreement will remain in force for five years and will be automatically renewed for a successive period unless it's terminated by either signatory.

India and Italy are ancient civilizations that have interacted and traded with each other for over 2000 years via the spice route. Modern political relations between India and Italy were established in 1947.

Major areas of engagement between India and Italy 

• Political relations: There has been a regular exchange of visits at political and official levels between both countries. 
  • For Instance, the Indian PM paid his first official visit to Italy in October 2021 to attend the G20 Summit. In March 2023, the Italian PM paid her first-ever state visit to India as the guest of honour of Raisina Dialogue.

• Economic Relations: Italy is India's 4th largest trading partner in the EU. 
  • The bilateral trade between the two countries was valued at US$ 14.25 billion in 2022-23, with the balance of trade being in India’s favour. 
• Defence Relations: India - Italy Military Cooperation Group (MCG) is a forum established to boost defence cooperation.
  • India and Italy signed a defence cooperation agreement (in 2023) to promote cooperation in varied defence domains such as security and defence policy, and defence industrial cooperation among others.
• Strategic Relations: The relationship between India and Italy was elevated to Strategic Partnership in March 2023 during the visit of the Italian Prime Minister to India.  
  • A connection was identified between the Indo-Pacific, in which India plays a leading role, and the enlarged Mediterranean where Italy sits at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea and acts as a natural bridge towards the Indo-Pacific.
  • Italy's decision to withdraw from the Belt and Road Initiative aligns with common goals in global connectivity between Rome and New Delhi.
• Multilateral: 
  • Italy supported India’s entry into the Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group.
  • The Blue-Raman project (with an Italian company at its core) will bring the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean closer in exchange of digital data through a submarine cable system.
  • Italy supported India's major initiatives including the International Solar Alliance (ISA), the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA).

Issues in India-Italy Relations

• Low Trade: India and Italy, despite having historical trade ties dating back to the Roman era have relatively low current volume of trade and investment.
• Trust deficit due to earlier issues: 
  • Italian Mariners’ case: The case sparked a conflict over legal jurisdiction and functional immunity, which ended only in 2020 with the verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. 
  • Agusta Westland helicopter scandal: The defence firm owned by Italian company Leonardo was accused of bribery, resulting in India cancelling the procurement deal and banning Leonardo from the Indian defence market in 2015.
• Unrealized Alliance: In 2021, the India-Italy-Japan trilateral partnership was launched yet it has not been operationalised.

Way forward

• Economic Partnership: Strengthen trade ties to increase trade volume, explore new avenues for investment, and promote economic cooperation.
• Strengthening EU-India partnership: If the India and EU sign a trade pact in the coming time, Italy and India can enjoy major two-way trade benefits. It would also add fodder to the reinvigorated EU-India partnership. 
• Shared global agenda: Italy and India can converge on multilateral issues, sharing a common imperative to shape and endorse a new global agenda together.
• Culinary Exchanges: Celebrate and promote the culinary heritage of both countries through food festivals and gastronomic events, with Italian pasta and pizza finding a place on Indian tables, and Indian spices adding a punch to Italian dishes.