ROME, 20 MAY (DNA) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took selfies at the Colosseum and admired the view over Rome ahead of talks focused on trade on Wednesday.In a video posted on X, Meloni also thanked Modi for bringing along a packet of “Melody” toffees on his visit, with the two seen laughing over the present — a play on their names.
Wrapping up a tour of Europe, Modi landed in Rome on Tuesday for the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to Italy in 26 years. Modi previously visited Italy for a G20 meeting in 2021 and a G7 summit in 2024. In a joint opinion in Italy’s Corriere della Sera daily, the two said they wanted to “reach and exceed the €20 billion ($23bn) target for trade between Italy and India by 2029”.
Particular sectors of interest would include defence, aerospace, car parts, clean technologies and textiles, they said. “We aim to forge a powerful synergy between Italian design, manufacturing excellence, and world-class supercomputers… and India’s rapid economic growth, engineering talent, scale, and innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem,” they said.
Bilateral trade between Italy and India was €14.25bn last year, according to the Indian embassy to Italy.Later on Wednesday, the two leaders will hold bilateral talks at Villa Pamphili, a 17th-century villa to the west of the city centre.
Modi on X said he would also visit the Rome headquarters of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) “strengthening India’s commitment to multilateralism as well as global food security”. — DNA
