Rome – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni have elevated their countries’ relationship to a Special Strategic Partnership, with the two leaders co-authoring an opinion piece to mark what they described as a decisive stage in ties between the two nations.
“Penned an op-ed with PM Meloni on how India-Italy ties have reached a decisive stage. Ours is a Special Strategic Partnership driven by innovation, shared democratic values and a common vision for the future,” Modi wrote on X on Wednesday.
Modi, who landed in Rome on Tuesday, met Meloni for dinner upon arrival before the two visited the iconic Colosseum together. “We exchanged views on a wide range of topics. I look forward to our talks today, during which we will continue the conversation on how to strengthen,” Modi wrote, hinting at further substantive discussions planned for Wednesday. 
The visit is Modi’s first bilateral trip to Italy, though he has previously attended a G7 summit there in June 2024 and a G20 gathering three years before that.
The two leaders are expected to sign a joint declaration that includes a commitment to hold annual heads-of-government summits and push bilateral trade to 20 billion euros, about E423 billion in lilangeni terms, by 2029. Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at more than 14 billion euros in 2023, according to the Italian embassy in New Delhi.
A key focus of the visit is the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, a project born out of a memorandum signed in 2023 by partners including the European Union and the United States, aimed at developing trade routes linking India to the Arabian Gulf and from there to Europe.
Italy’s move to deepen ties with India mirrors a broader European trend of courting New Delhi as a strategic partner during a period of global uncertainty. The EU earlier this year concluded a long-delayed trade agreement with India, partly to reduce dependence on the United States.
The two countries first established a strategic partnership in 2023 and have since expanded cooperation in scientific research, trade and artificial intelligence. Modi and Meloni are also scheduled to sit down for a working lunch with senior executives from leading Italian and Indian industrial groups to discuss ways to strengthen economic and investment cooperation further.
