India and Italy signed six agreements in various fields including trade and investment, railways and energy. The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Italy Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in New Delhi.
Both leaders held delegation-level talks and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral strategic partnership.
In a joint statement after exchange of MoUs, Mr Modi said, several aspects of cooperation between India and Italy were discussed in the meeting.
Prime Minister Modi said, regional and world affairs were discussed and India and Italy are on the same page in the fight against terrorism. He said, both countries are committed to fight unitedly against terror. The Prime Minister also said that India and Italy are committed to enhance tourism and people-to-people ties and there is enough space to expand bilateral relations in many areas.
Saying that there is much scope for increase in commercial cooperation, Mr Modi encouraged Italian participation in his government’s flagship programmes like Smart Cities, and sectors like infrastructure and food processing.
The Italian Prime Minister, in his media interaction, said, India and Italy have a common approach on climate change, counter-terrorism and democracy. Mr Gentiloni said, the success of Indian democracy is a message to the world.Earlier, both Prime Ministers also interacted with 12 Indian and 19 Italian business leaders for boosting economic and investment cooperation.
In the evening, the visiting leader will call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.Mr Gentiloni arrived yesterday on a two-day visit to India. The visit is aimed at strengthening the bilateral political and economic relations between the two countries. A 15-member Italian CEO delegation is accompanying the official delegation.