• Modi lands in Rome as India and Italy prepare to elevate ties
    Europe International Relations

    Modi lands in Rome as India and Italy prepare to elevate ties

    European Newsdesk Posted on

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Rome on Tuesday evening for the final leg of his five-nation tour, opening a high-profile visit that is expected to give new political weight to the India-Italy relationship. The visit follows stops in the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, and comes as Rome and New Delhi prepare to deepen cooperation across trade, connectivity, defence, technology and the Indo-Mediterranean space.

    The protocol of the arrival carried its own message. Modi was welcomed at the aircraft by Antonio Tajani, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, alongside External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Ambassador Antonio Bartoli, Italy’s envoy to India, as Vani Rao, India’s Ambassador to Italy, looked on. The presence of senior figures from both sides gave the arrival more than ceremonial weight, signalling the political importance Rome and New Delhi are attaching to the visit.

    Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni added a personal note to the official welcome. In a post on X, she wrote, “Welcome to Rome, my friend,” accompanied by the Italian and Indian flags immediately giving the visit a warm and highly visible public frame, reinforcing the personal rapport between the two leaders that has become one of the most recognizable features of India-Italy diplomacy.

    Modi’s first evening in Rome also carried symbolic weight. In a message posted after his arrival, the Prime Minister said he had met Meloni over dinner before visiting the iconic Colosseum. “We exchanged perspectives on a wide range of subjects,” he wrote, adding that he looked forward to formal talks the following day, where the two sides would continue discussions on how to boost the India-Italy friendship. The dinner and the visit to one of Rome’s most recognizable landmarks added a personal and civilizational dimension to the political agenda.

    The visit is expected to move well beyond symbolism. Modi is scheduled to meet Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, with talks focused on strengthening bilateral ties and expanding cooperation under the India-Italy strategic framework. The two countries are expected to give fresh momentum to cooperation on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, trade, technology, defence and security.

    The economic agenda is also significant. Italy and India are expected to work toward raising bilateral trade to €20 billion by 2029, from more than €14 billion in 2023. Agreements are expected in sectors including maritime transport, agriculture, higher education, critical minerals, museum cooperation and the fight against economic and financial crime.

    For Italy, the visit confirms India’s growing role in Rome’s wider Indo-Mediterranean outlook. For India, it marks an opportunity to consolidate one of its most politically visible European partnerships at a time when New Delhi is expanding its presence across strategic corridors, maritime routes, defence-industrial supply chains and technology partnerships.

    The image of Modi being received in Rome by Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister was therefore more than protocol. It signalled that Italy sees India not as a distant Asian partner, but as a central actor in the emerging geometry linking the Indo-Pacific, the Gulf and the Mediterranean. Meloni’s message on X and Modi’s account of their dinner and visit to the Colosseum gave that strategic shift a personal voice: friendly, direct and unmistakably political.

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