Italian PM to hold talks with Modi on Tuesday

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will be on a day-long maiden visit to India on Tuesday during which he will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to boost cooperation in key areas such as trade and investment, besides participating in the India-Italy Technology Summit.

The highlight of the visit will be the Italian prime minister's participation at the 24th edition of the India-Italy Technology Summit which is being organised by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The summit will focus on a number of areas including healthcare, aerospace, education, clean technology, renewable energy and information and communication technology.

During the Conte-Modi talks, focus is expected to be on discussing ways to boost trade and investment.

The bilateral trade between the countries increased to USD 10.5 billion in 2017-18 from USD 8.8 billion in the previous fiscal.

Italy is India's fifth largest trading partner in the European Union and the annual trade turnover between the two countries was USD 10.4 billion in 2017-18. Over 600 Italian companies are operating in India.