{"id":4811,"date":"2021-02-13T13:38:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-13T08:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?page_id=4811"},"modified":"2024-01-09T17:13:11","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T11:43:11","password":"","slug":"india-italy-bilateral-relations","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/docs\/india-italy-bilateral-relations","title":{"rendered":"India-Italy Relations: Strengthening Ties Across Trade, Culture, and Security"},"content":{"rendered":"<table style=\"width: 99.3452%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: #ff5e00;\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 24pt;\">India-Italy Relations: Strengthening Ties Across Trade, Culture, and Security<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To prepare for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/international-relations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for any competitive exam, aspirants have to know <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/bilateral-relations-with-developed-countries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH DEVELOPED COUNTRIES<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Here we will study about India-Italy Relations. It gives an idea of all the important topics for the IAS Exam and the Governance syllabus (GS-II.). India-Italy Relations terms are important from Governance perspectives in the UPSC exam. IAS aspirants should thoroughly understand their meaning and application, as questions can be asked from this static portion of the IAS Syllabus in both the UPSC Prelims and the UPSC Mains exams. Even these topics are also highly linked with current affairs. Almost every question asked from them is related to current events. So, apart from standard textbooks, you should rely on newspapers and news analyses as well for these sections.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>India-Italy Relations: Basic and Backgrounds\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India and Italy are ancient civilizations but young states (Italy having been reunified only in 1861), shaping the dynamics of India-Italy Relations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The classical languages, Sanskrit and Latin both belong to the Indo-European language family.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People of these two ancient civilizations have known, interacted and traded with each other for over 2000 years. Italian port cities were important trading posts on the spice route.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Venetian merchant Marco Polo, during his travels to the east, also traveled to India in the 13th century and wrote about his experiences.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian troops, serving with the British Indian Army, were active in Italy during World War II. These included the Rajputana Rifles and Gurkha Rifles.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 10th Indian Division took part in the East African Allied campaign against the Italians in Somaliland and Abyssinia.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Political India-Italy Relations<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> India-Italy relations were established in 1947 politically.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two countries enjoy cordial relationships.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There has been a regular exchange of visits at political and official levels between both countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Economic India-Italy Relations<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amongst EU member-states, Italy is India\u2019s 5th largest trading partner (following Germany, Belgium, UK and France).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian exports to Italy are driven by petrochemical, plastic, textile and steel. Italian exports towards India amount to 1% of Indian total import, shaping the dynamics of India-Italy Relations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy is the 27th global supplier to India, while is the 10th market of destination of Indian exports.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy\u2019s presence in India accounts for slightly less than $3 billion investment cumulatively between April 2000 and June 2018. Those investments are mostly in the automotive industry, trading, services, industrial machinery and food processing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Main items of Indian exports to Italy are ready-made garments, leather, iron ore, motor vehicles, textiles, chemicals, gems &#038; jewelry. Main items of import from Italy are general and special purpose machinery, machine tools, metallurgical products, and engineering items. Around 140 large Italian companies are active in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>India-Italy Relations of Trade<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian-EU free trade agreement has seen bumpy rides in this<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There have been many rounds of negotiations but nothing significant has come out. With Italian support now, this FTA is expected to be a little easier to have breakthroughs as it is good to have support from one of the major EU countries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trade between India and Italy is not quite encouraging. The annual turnover is about 8 billion US dollars in favor of India of about 1 billion US dollars. Though it is in India\u2019s favor, there is a great potential for increasing the trade between India and Italy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Strengthening India-Italy Relations: Indian Diaspora in Italy<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy hosts the third largest Indian community in the European Union, plays a crucial role in the fabric of India-Italy Relations, with an estimated 1,80,000 people, after the UK and the Netherlands.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As first generation migrants, the majority of them are engaged in economic sectors such as agriculture, dairy farming, leather industry, construction works and in service industry.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A significant proportion of the Indian diaspora is concentrated in the northern Italy regions like Lombardia, Piemonte, Veneto and Emilia Romagna regions, Central Italy like Florence, Rome and Southern Italy like Campania, Puglia and Calabria.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>India-Italy Relations: Cultural Ties<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India-Italy Relations agreement for cultural cooperation was signed in 1976.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It includes the Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between Italy and India which entails exchange of students in language programmes as well as other academic courses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are around 10 Universities\/higher education institutions in Italy with highly qualified faculties which conduct courses in Indian art, history and languages.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Advancing Collaboration: India-Italy Relations in Science and Technology<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An Agreement on S&#038;T shaping India-Italy Relations has existed since 1978.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Agreement envisages three yearly action plans under which a maximum of thirty joint research projects can be undertaken.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the prime areas of joint research are Electronics, Biotechnology, Design Engineering Automotive Technologies, Energy, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333333; font-size: 15pt;\">Strengthening Defense Ties: India-Italy Relations in Defence<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Joint Defence Committee was established in 2018 to enhance and encourage a \u201cstructured dialogue\u201d between Indian and Italian defense firms.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy supported India\u2019s \u201cintensified engagement\u201d with nuclear, missile and dual-use technology and substances-export control regimes like the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Australia Group, and the Nuclear Suppliers\u2019 Group (NSG) which strengthen global non-proliferation efforts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #ff6600;\"><strong>India-Italy Relations and Joint Efforts Against Terrorism<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy has supported India in the anti-terrorism front, emphasizing the shared concerns in India-Italy Relations. India has for a very long time globally asked the world to be more proactive and be strict against terrorist organizations especially organizations like the JeM which are based in Pakistan and are responsible for cross terrorism.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support by Italy in this matter strengthens India\u2019s hands in its global fight against terrorism especially when it comes to Pakistan. Today, terrorism has become a global issue and is not restricted to India only. Acknowledgment of terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS calls upon countries to not give safe haven to the terrorist entities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is facing terrorist attacks whereas Italy faces an influx of refugees from Syria, Yemen, Libya along with other countries in Europe. Thus, there is a rising security concern for Italy also and it is significant when such an area is openly discussed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy feels that this concern of cross border terrorism was raised by India for a long time and now it is being realized as a reality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Horrific terrorist incidents happening in Europe makes one feel that maybe Europe is now a little more sensitive to a country like India in matters of anti-terrorism.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Strategic Foundations of India-Italy Relations<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strong manufacturing base \u2013 Italy is the eighth largest economy in the world and the third largest in the Eurozone after Germany and France with a GDP of $1.86 trillion. It is also the world\u2019s sixth largest manufacturing nation, dominated by small and medium enterprises clustered in many industrial districts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brexit \u2013 Half of the stock of Indian investments in the EU is actually in the UK. Indian investors are therefore looking for alternative entry points to access the EU market. Italy represents a perfect opportunity for that.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The geopolitical dynamics between India and Europe \u2013 India has tried to open its policy towards Europe, Europe has become more inward looking following Brexit and the rise of the far right parties throughout the region. So India is looking to build a bridge to the EU.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">G20 \u2013 Italy and India will be holding the consecutive Presidencies (Italy in 2021 and India in 2022) of the G20, one of the world\u2019s main fora for global governance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fight against climate change \u2013 Italy will co-host the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties, COP26, in 2021, together with the United Kingdom, and India is one of the world\u2019s major responsible stakeholders.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Africa \u2013 Both India and Italy are stepping up their engagement in the continent, with the aim of managing migration flow for Italy and fostering developing cooperation for India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #ff6600;\"><strong>India-Italy Relations: Challenges<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lower trade \u2013 India and Italy have been trade partners since the Roman era, and so it is unfortunate that India has such a low volume of trade and investment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Enrica Lexie Case \u2013 Where two Indian fishermen were killed by Italian marines in 2012, the event was a big mistake, this tragic fact quickly became politicized.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy\u2019s current political instability \u2013 Italy is in a very precarious position \u2013 with a nationalist, naturalist near fascist on one side and a populist movement on the other.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Italy is the \u2018Achilles heel of Europe Having one of the lowest growth rates at 1.5% with high youth unemployment at 30% and increasing debt at a worrying 133% of its GDP.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600; font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>India-Italy Relations: Way Forward<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both countries should shape the international discourse around priorities that both countries hold dear:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from taking advantage of our economic complementarity to strengthening our partnership based on shared values<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on our thriving creating industries<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">scientific knowledge and technological prowess<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from the development of a rules-based international system to the promotion of just trade<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inclusive growth and the realization of the 2030 Agenda.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India-Italy Relations can get better by supporting an effective multilateral system, which would be the best political accelerator to win our battle against the novel coronavirus and to promote a sustainable, equitable and durable recovery.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improving trade: the potential of India and Italy as trade partners can be further explored if India and the European Union (EU) sign the Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) which has been in negotiation for over 11 years without conclusion.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improving relations between EU and India By the recently adopted EU Strategy for Connectivity in Asia.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India-Italy Relations: Strengthening Ties Across Trade, Culture, and Security To prepare for INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS for any competitive exam, aspirants have to know BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. Here we will study about India-Italy Relations. It gives an idea of all the important topics for the IAS Exam and the Governance syllabus (GS-II.). India-Italy Relations terms&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/docs\/india-italy-bilateral-relations\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">India-Italy Relations: Strengthening Ties Across Trade, Culture, and Security<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[125],"doc_tag":[],"acf":[],"year_month":"2026-04","word_count":1537,"total_views":"1734","reactions":{"happy":"2","normal":"0","sad":"2"},"author_info":{"name":"bks_editor","author_nicename":"bks_editor","author_url":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/author\/bks_editor"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS","term_url":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/docs-category\/international-relations"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/4811"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4811"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/4811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73726,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/4811\/revisions\/73726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=4811"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=4811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}