Italy’s Dy PM, EAM Jaishankar discuss India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, Gulf situation

United Nations, Sep 23 (IANS) Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani says his country is bound to India through a special Strategic Partnership, which framed his discussions with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar.

“In this framework, we share the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation, essential for the security of trade routes, for connectivity, and for the growth of our economies,” Tajani said on X after they met here on Tuesday.

“Italy and India are bound by a special Strategic Partnership, which we are strengthening through ever broader collaboration, from defence and security to artificial intelligence, from space to critical technologies and energy”, he said.

EAM Jaishankar said in his X post, “Our conversation focused on the Gulf situation, IMEC, and the Ukraine conflict”.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, is a plan proposed at the 2023 G20 meeting to connect India with Europe through a sea and land pathway for trade going through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel to Europe through Greece and Italy.

Tajani also referred to IMEC, calling it a “strategic development” that would spur trade.

“India is a key country for the Export Action Plan (and) we want to work together to achieve the goal of 20 billion euros in trade exchange by 2029,” he wrote.

The EU-India Free Trade Agreement was reached in January, and the IMEC would provide an opportunity for reaching this goal, he added.

EAM Jaishankar also met with Uganda’s Foreign Minister Adonia Ayebare, who wrote on X that he participated in the High-level Meeting of Like-Minded Global South Countries and Friends convened by India.

Writing on X, EAM Jaishankar said they “agreed to cooperate closely to strengthen our bilateral relations, focusing on development partnership, capacity building, defence training and agriculture”.

–IANS

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