Modi meets Italian PM Mario Draghi, discusses Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific, climate change

Rome, October 30, 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi in Rome on Friday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit and exchanged views with him on the situation in Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific, among other recent global and regional developments.

The two leaders also discussed the challenges posed by climate change, and the need for the international community to work together to tackle them.

Modi highlighted the transformative climate actions undertaken by India, and the concerns of developing countries about climate financing commitments of the developed world.

On various global and regional developments, the two leaders reiterated their desire for working closer together for furthering the India-European multi-faceted cooperation.

On the bilateral side, the two leaders reviewed developments since the India-Italy Virtual Summit in November 2020 and expressed satisfaction at the progress in implementation of the 2020-2025 Action Plan adopted then that set strategic goals in the political, economic, S&T and cultural spheres to be achieved in the next five years.

An official press release said the two leaders reiterated their commitment to further expanding trade and investment linkages between the two countries particularly in textiles, food processing, automotive and renewable energy sectors.

To provide fresh impetus to the bilateral cooperation in renewables and clean energy, India and Italy issued a Joint Statement announcing a Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition and agreed to explore partnerships in areas such as large size green corridor projects, smart grids, energy storage solutions, gas transportation, integrated waste management (waste-to-wealth), development and deployment of green hydrogen and promotion of bio-fuels.

India and Italy also signed a Statement of Intent on Textiles cooperation during the meeting.

This was the first in-person meeting between Modi and Draghi.

Modi congratulated Prime Draghi for successfully hosting the G20 in the midst of a global pandemic. Italy is also partnering the UK in organizing COP-26 in Glasgow.

The Prime Minister extended an invitation to Draghi to pay an official visit to India at the earliest opportunity, the release added.

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