ROME — Bringing his expansive five-nation European tour to a close, Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a highly productive two-day official visit to Italy on May 20, 2026. This landmark visit, which took place at the formal invitation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, marked a major turning point for both countries. The two leaders officially elevated India-Italy relations to the level of a Special Strategic Partnership. This new status highlights a fresh era of deepened trust, shared democratic values, and multifaceted cooperation on pressing global issues.

During his time in Rome, Prime Minister Modi engaged in comprehensive bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Meloni at the historic Villa Doria Pamphili, and also met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Together, the leaders carefully reviewed the ongoing implementation of the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029 to ensure all long-term goals remain on track. Looking ahead, they charted an ambitious future roadmap and issued a detailed India-Italy Joint Declaration. This document outlines extensive, future-focused cooperation across political dialogue, economic ties, connectivity, science and technology, defence, security, mobility, culture, and active collaboration in multilateral forums.

Deepening Defence Alliances and Security Ties

The diplomatic visit produced a rich list of concrete outcomes, highlighted by multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and targeted initiatives designed to strengthen bilateral engagement across diverse sectors.

In the realm of defence and security, the two nations adopted the India-Italy Defence Industrial Roadmap alongside a Joint Declaration of Intent on bolstering defence industrial cooperation. This new operational framework is built to promote hands-on technological collaboration, co-production, and co-development projects. The joint efforts will focus heavily on key modern military areas, such as helicopters, naval platforms, marine armaments, and advanced electronic warfare systems.

To sustain this momentum, both nations agreed to explore an annual high-level military structured dialogue and launch a dedicated Dialogue on Maritime Security. They also plan to enhance real-world coordination through regular naval port visits and joint military exercises. On the law enforcement front, an MoU was signed between Italy’s Guardia di Finanza and India’s Directorate of Enforcement to significantly strengthen bilateral ties and intelligence sharing in fighting financial crimes.

Expanding the €20 Billion Trade and Economic Horizon

On the economic and trade front, the leaders expressed great satisfaction with the growing momentum in bilateral commerce. Capitalising on the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement, they set an ambitious target to expand total trade volumes to €20 billion by 2029. To hit this goal, both governments welcomed increased corporate and state investments in a wide variety of high-growth sectors, including:

• Textiles and apparel manufacturing

• Clean technologies and renewable energy systems

• Semiconductors and advanced electronics

• Automotive engineering and electric vehicles

• Energy infrastructure and pharmaceuticals

• Digital technologies and critical raw materials

• Steel production, ports, and heavy infrastructure

Solidifying this economic push, an MoU on cooperation in critical minerals was signed. This agreement places a strong emphasis on building sustainable supply chains, advancing circular economy practices, and pioneering the joint recovery of rare minerals directly from electronic waste and old mine tailings. Additional agreements were concluded to boost agricultural cooperation and expand the marine products trade between the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) of India and ASSOITTICA ITALIA.

Building Global Corridors and Innovation Hubs

Physical and digital connectivity received special attention during the bilateral talks. Both Prime Ministers reaffirmed their strong, unwavering commitment to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Recognizing its transformative potential for global trade and international prosperity, they called for the first formal IMEC Ministerial meeting to be held later in 2026 to advance the infrastructure project. To support this network, an MoU on maritime transport and ports was signed, alongside a dedicated cooperation agreement for the development of India’s National Maritime Heritage Complex located at Lothal, Gujarat.

In the fields of science, technology, innovation, and higher education, the leaders announced the creation of INNOVIT India. This specialized innovation hub, based in India, will focus on cutting-edge sectors such as fintech, healthcare, semiconductors, agritech, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Furthermore, they welcomed the newly established Indo-Italian Roadmap on Higher Education and Research. This roadmap is designed to support direct researcher mobility in quantum technologies, renewable energy, green hydrogen, and the sustainable blue economy. The leaders noted with praise new academic partnerships already involving IITM Pune, the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC), Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).

Prime Minister Modi also thanked Italy for its active participation in the AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi in February 2026. Looking forward, both sides committed to a human-centric, secure, and trustworthy AI collaboration, including joint projects in third countries.

Standing United Against Global Terrorism

The Joint Declaration issued by the leaders took a firm stand on global security, strongly condemning terrorism and violent extremism in all forms, including cross-border terrorism. The text specifically denounced the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.

To combat these threats, the leaders pledged enhanced cooperation on countering terrorist financing through major international bodies like the United Nations (UN) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). They also stated they looked forward to the next formal meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism. Beyond financial monitoring, both nations welcomed steady progress on parallel agreements related to police cooperation, the secure exchange of classified information, extradition protocols, and mutual legal assistance.

Cultural Ties and Global Diplomacy

Turning to people-to-people ties, the two sides agreed to celebrate 2027 as the “Year of Culture and Tourism between India and Italy”. This year-long celebration will feature a broad calendar of public events and a major historical exhibition highlighting ancient cultural relations between the two regions.

Additionally, a Joint Declaration of Intent was signed regarding nurse mobility from India to Italy, and a new MoU on Ayurveda cooperation was concluded. To deepen academic integration, Prime Minister Modi extended a formal invitation to Italian universities to establish international campuses directly in India under the guidelines of India's New Education Policy.

The leaders also addressed pressing regional and global issues, advocating strongly for dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable paths for the resolution of ongoing conflicts in West Asia and Ukraine. They welcomed the new India-EU Comprehensive Strategic Agenda and reaffirmed their mutual support for robust multilateralism.

Before departing, Prime Minister Modi spent time visiting the iconic Colosseum and enjoyed warm, enthusiastic interactions with members of the local Indian diaspora. Officials from both nations expressed high confidence that the upgraded Special Strategic Partnership, underpinned by the new Joint Declaration and a robust list of concrete outcomes, will successfully unlock new avenues for mutual prosperity, resilient supply chains, clean technology collaboration, and enhanced Indo-Mediterranean connectivity.

Global Food Security Recognition at the UN FAO

During his stay in Italy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited the global headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome. In a historic moment, he was conferred with the prestigious FAO Agricola Medal for 2026, which stands as the organization’s highest honor.

This international award recognizes his exceptional leadership in advancing food security, sustainable agriculture, and rural development both inside India and on the global stage. With this visit, Prime Minister Modi became the third Indian Prime Minister to ever visit the FAO headquarters, and the first to do so in the last 30 years. Director-General Dr. Qu Dongyu personally presented the medal to him during an official ceremony held in the historic FAO Plenary Hall.

In his formal address to the assembly, PM Modi dedicated the high honor directly to India’s millions of farmers, livestock rearers, fishers, agricultural scientists, and field workers who have played a pivotal role in ensuring nationwide food security and nutrition. He highlighted India’s massive agricultural transformation over the decades, noting how the country moved from historic food shortages to becoming a major global surplus producer. Today, India maintains over 60 million tonnes of buffer food stocks, and its national agricultural exports exceed $51 billion.

The Prime Minister emphasized the rapidly growing role of modern technology in Indian agriculture. He cited major state initiatives such as AgriStack, AI-based digital advisory systems, agricultural drones, and remote sensing tools that are quickly making everyday farming smarter, more data-driven, and highly climate-resilient. He also underscored India’s active promotion of natural farming methods, millets, and sustainable agricultural practices as scalable models for global food systems.

Following the ceremony, he held detailed discussions with Dr. Qu Dongyu, focusing on strengthening future collaboration between India and the FAO in areas like sustainable agriculture, climate-smart farming, and public nutrition. This high-level engagement at the FAO added a significant multilateral dimension to PM Modi’s bilateral visit to Italy, showcasing India’s leadership in addressing the global challenges of hunger, sustainability, and rural prosperity.

At the conclusion of the trip, Prime Minister Modi extended a warm invitation to Prime Minister Meloni to visit India at a mutually convenient time. The Prime Minister then departed from Rome, concluding a highly successful diplomatic tour that has further strengthened India’s vital strategic partnerships across Europe.