Italy and India, trade target from EUR 14 to 20 billion by 2029

From our correspondent

MUMBAI - Counting on the fact that relations between the two countries have not been so good for many years now, India and Italy have set themselves the ambitious target of increasing trade exchanges from the current EUR 14 billion to EUR 20 billion by 2029. The target was set yesterday by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, during the plenary session of the Italy India Business Forum in Mumbai, the third meeting in the last eight months between the companies of the two countries and the agencies that assist them in their respective internationalisation processes.

During his speech, Tajani insisted on the need to look at India not only as a market to conquer, but also as a country to invest in, stressing the importance of innovation, research and training to be able to compete globally. "One of the crucial factors for the growth of relations," Tajani continued, "is the creation of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or Imec, an intermodal infrastructure project to make Italy one of the crucial hubs in the traffic of goods to and from the Subcontinent. "To achieve this we are working with India, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt," Tajani said.

Another recurring theme of yesterday's speeches was the negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Union. In this regard, neither Tajani nor the Indian Minister of Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal hid the fact that there are still non-marginal issues to be resolved, assuming, in Tajani's case, a solution within six months.

Regardless of the necessarily not short timescales for infrastructure projects and trade negotiations, Sace's head of India and South Asia, Gautham Bansali, is already noting 'a level of interest never seen in the last ten years, with peaks in the textile, waste-to-energy, infrastructure and automotive sectors'. This is a qualitative leap that emerges both from Cdp's growing numbers in India and from the agreement announced yesterday by Simest with the Indian Chamber of Commerce, a chamber considered to be in great harmony with Goyal, to support investments by companies from both countries.