Rome, Oct 24 — India and Italy held their inaugural maritime security dialogue in Rome, discussing avenues for cooperation in maritime situational awareness, countering illicit maritime activities and safeguarding critical maritime infrastructure, the Indian Embassy in Italy said on Saturday.
The dialogue, held on Friday, enabled a productive exchange of assessments on the maritime security environment and cooperation in the maritime domain, the Embassy said, describing it as “a new chapter” in the India-Italy Special Strategic Partnership.
“The inaugural India-Italy Maritime Security Dialogue in Rome on 23 October enabled a productive exchange of assessments about maritime security environment and cooperation in maritime domain. Both sides discussed avenues for cooperation in maritime situational awareness, countering illicit maritime activities and safeguarding critical maritime infrastructure,” the Embassy posted on X.
The Indian delegation, led by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) Subhashini Narayanan, also held interactions at the Academia Navale, the Italian Hydrographical Institute, Polo Nazionale della Subacquea and the Italian Coast Guard.
In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni agreed to launch a dialogue on maritime security, with the aim to strengthen maritime security cooperation, coordination, and the exchange of information and best practices in the maritime domain.
During their meeting in Rome, the two leaders also expressed satisfaction at the deepening of defence cooperation between India and Italy, including through ministerial exchanges, service-to-service ties, port visits and welcomed the adoption of a Joint Declaration of Intent and a Defence Industrial Roadmap which will promote partnerships for technological cooperation, co-production and co-development projects, including helicopters, naval platforms, marine armament and electronic warfare.
According to the Joint Statement released after the meeting, the two Prime Ministers recognised the importance of protecting critical infrastructures and their related supply chains through the strengthening of industrial resilience. India and Italy agreed to examine the feasibility of creating an annual high level military structured dialogue, complementing the work of the Joint Defence Committee and the Military Cooperation Group and to promote joint exercises and inter-force courses.