India, Italy discuss Ukraine and Afghanistan, eye partnerships for climate transition

India and Italy on Friday discussed global security issues such as the Ukraine crisis and the situation in Afghanistan and emphasised the need to safeguard the international order based on the UN Charter, especially respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

At a meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his visiting Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, the two sides agreed to explore new partnerships in areas related to climate transition, such as green hydrogen, bio-fuels, gas transportation and energy storage.

While security issues such as the conflict in Ukraine and the situation in Afghanistan were a key part of the talks between the two foreign ministers, there was a significant trade and technology component in Di Maio’s engagements during his two-day visit. Besides opening a new Italian consulate in Bengaluru on Thursday and holding talks with commerce minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Friday, Di Maio also visited the headquarters of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to boost cooperation in space.

A joint statement issued after the meeting between the foreign ministers said they exchanged views on regional and global issues, including Ukraine, Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific and discussed cooperation in multilateral forums such as the G20.

“On Ukraine, the two ministers expressed their concern on the ongoing humanitarian crisis and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities,” the joint statement said. They underlined the importance of safeguarding the international order based on the UN Charter, with “special regard to the respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity”, it added.

Italy’s foreign ministry said in a tweet that the discussions focused on strengthening the bilateral partnership in all fields, including security and defence, relations with the European Union (EU), the Indo-Pacific, the conflict in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and energy transition.

The joint statement said Jaishankar and Di Maio noted the potential for closer industrial collaboration, including in defence. They also reiterated their commitment to work closely to counter common challenges related to terrorism, violent extremism and cyber-crime.

As part of the implementation of the bilateral strategic partnership on energy transition, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Italy last year, the two sides agreed to explore new partnerships in gas transportation, green hydrogen, bio-fuels and energy storage. They also decided to jointly organise an India-Italy tech summit on energy transition and circular economy in Delhi on November 17.

The discussions at the meeting between Di Maio and Goyal focused on bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation, and negotiations between India and the EU for agreements on trade, investments and protection of geographic indications.

Di Maio and Goyal also co-chaired a roundtable with Italian and Indian companies with interests in sectors such as energy, defence, sustainable mobility and infrastructure.

The Italian foreign minister began his visit in Bengaluru, where he went to the ISRO headquarters and met the space agency’s chairman, S Somanath. As part of efforts to deepen space cooperation, ISRO and the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana have established new joint working groups on earth observation and space exploration.

Di Maio visited the Indian Institute of Science, which has been collaborating for more than 20 years with Italy’s Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, a government-backed multidisciplinary research centre. He also interacted with representatives of Italian start-ups active in Bengaluru.