S Jaishankar meets with Italian President to discuss partnership advancement

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and other top authorities in this city to discuss measures to strengthen the bilateral strategic relationship in areas including defence, cyber security, and counter-terrorism.

Jaishankar’s four-day travel to Portugal and Italy ended on Friday, at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani.

During their meeting, the Italian president emphasized his strong support for strengthening bilateral ties and deepening India-Italy and India-EU connections, according to a news release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi on Saturday.

Dr S Jaishankar tweeted, “Honored to call on President Sergio Mattarella today. Valued his guidance for the further development of our strategic partnership. In a volatile and uncertain world, the 🇮🇳 🇮🇹 relationship is a factor of stability”, through his official ‘X’ handle.

The minister also met with Italy’s Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto, to discuss the increasing strategic partnerships, including industrial collaboration in defence manufacture and areas of counter-terrorism, cyber security, and the maritime sector.

“The minister’s Italy visit further consolidated the long-standing historical ties between the two countries and pushed bilateral cooperation in diverse areas of the Strategic Partnership, including on contemporary global issues and challenges”, the statement reads.

He also met with Adolfo Urso, the Italian Minister of Enterprise, to discuss ways to boost bilateral trade and investment, with an emphasis on agro-tech, engineering, digital infrastructure, innovation, and space.

Earlier, Jaishankar met with his counterpart Tajani and signed two agreements: the Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement and the Executive Programme on Cultural Cooperation, which will allow workers, students, and professionals to move freely between the two countries.

He also addressed the Senate’s External Affairs and Defence Commission in a joint session, where the two leaders discussed the West Asian situation, the Ukraine issue, and the Indo-Pacific panorama in depth.

During the session, India’s successful G20 presidency, Italy’s future G7 presidency, India-EU relations, the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, the conflict in Ukraine, and the situation in West Asia were all covered.

Jaishankar also praised Italy’s support for all of India’s main international endeavors, indicating a growing convergence of viewpoints on critical global issues.

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