GS Paper 2
Syllabus: India’s bilateral relations
Source: TH
Context: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is on a visit to India.
In recent years, India-Italy relation has been mired by the MB Enrica Lexie case (In February 2012, two Indian fishermen were killed off the coast of Kerala, India, aboard St. Antony. Two Italian marines were arrested and jailed. This caused diplomatic issues between the two countries.)
Various dimensions of the India-Italy relationship are as follows:
| Dimension | Examples |
| Diplomatic ties | · India and Italy established diplomatic relations in 1947.
· India and Italy have elevated their bilateral relationship to the level of strategic partnership · 2020-2024 Action Plan for bilateral relations |
| Trade | · In 2022, bilateral trade has reached $15bn between both the countries
· Italy is among India’s top 5 trading partners in the EU. · The balance of trade has been in India’s favour since the early eighties. · India invited Italy to partner in ‘Make in India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ with a focus on the areas of renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, telecom, and space among others. |
| Investment | · Establishment of a ‘Startup Bridge’ between India and Italy (2023)
· India-Italy Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition announced in 2021 · Italian car manufacturer Fiat has been operating in India since 1997 · Indian IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has a large presence in Italy, with over 2,500 employees in the country. |
| Cultural ties | · Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo (Week of the Italian Language in the World) celebrated the Italian language and culture in India
· Year-long Festival of India in Italy ‘Srijan’ · Indian community in Italy is the third largest community of Indians in Europe after the UK and the Netherlands. |
| Science | · Italian space agency (ASI)-ISRO working group in heliophysics |
| Education | · Italy is a popular destination for Indian students studying abroad. India and Italy have also signed agreements for academic and research cooperation. |
| Defence | · Indian Army played a significant role in the liberation of Italy in the 2nd world war
· Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation signed in 2023 · Organise joint military exercises and training courses on a regular basis · India-Italy Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism · India also welcomed Italy’s engagement in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Italy’s new status as a Development Partner of ASEAN
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Insta Links:
Shaping a trilateral as Rome looks to the Indo-Pacific
Mains Link:
Elucidate upon the potential of a trilateral relationship between India, Japan & Italy.
Prelims Link:
Region often mentioned in the news: (UPSC 2022)
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- Anatolia Turkey
- Amhara Ethiopia
- Cabo Delgado Spain
- Catalonia Italy
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How many pairs given above are correctly matched?
(a) Only one pair
(b) Only two pairs
(c) Only three pairs
(d) All four pairs
