PM Modi, Meloni hold talks on FTA, Ukraine war and economic corridor

PM Modi and Italian PM Meloni reaffirm support for early India-EU FTA, IMEEC corridor, and efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict during telephonic talks

In a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated her country’s strong support for the early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India–European Union (EU) free-trade agreement (FTA).

 

The two leaders also agreed to take steps to promote connectivity under the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEEC) initiative and ending the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

 

On September 6, PM Modi had a telephonic exchange with French President Emmanuel Macron, and the two exchanged views on recent efforts to bring the conflict to an end. Given Modi’s rapport with Russian President Vladimir Putin, European leaders have been keen for him to put more weight on the peace process.

 

In a social media post, Modi said: “We reaffirmed our joint commitment to deepen India-Italy Strategic Partnership, and shared interest in bringing an early end to the conflict in Ukraine.”

 

Modi thanked his Italian counterpart “for Italy’s proactive support for concluding a mutually beneficial India-EU” FTA and “promoting connectivity through the IMEEC initiative”.

 

The two leaders also reviewed developments in the bilateral strategic partnership across sectors such as investment, defence, security, space, science and technology, and counter-terrorism. 

 

The conversation between Modi and Meloni comes at a time when negotiations on the India-EU FTA are picking up pace. On Tuesday, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said almost 60 per cent of the chapters had been completed and finalised.

 

Over the past week, Germany’s Foreign Minister visited India and voiced support for concluding the FTA by the end of the year. With international trade in turmoil, both India and the EU are eager to complete negotiations so the agreement can be ratified by the first half of 2026. The next India-EU Summit is scheduled to be held in early 2026 in India.

 

Important forthcoming visits by EU officials include those of Maroš Šefčovič, the EU trade commissioner, and Christophe Hansen, the agriculture commissioner, both of whom are expected to visit Delhi later this week. EU trade negotiators also arrived in Delhi earlier this week for the 13th round of negotiations.

 

A 28-member delegation of the EU’s Political and Security Committee (PSC) arrived on Wednesday and would be in Delhi until September 14.

 

During its visit to India, its first to the country, the PSC will hold strategic discussions with high-level Indian government officials, private sector defence representatives, civil society organisations, and leading think-tanks, a statement from the EU said.

 

The visit will seek to build on recent visits, including the EU College of Commissioners’ visit to India in February, the inaugural EU-India Strategic Dialogue in June, and the upcoming EU-India Summit in early 2026.

 

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the EU and India held the 15th meeting of their Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism on September 9 in Brussels. Both sides condemned the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

 

India and EU condemned cross-border terrorism and stressed upon concerted action against terrorism, including cooperation between the two sides in the United Nations, the Global Counterterrorism Forum and Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The two sides discussed measures to counter the financing of terrorism, and the implications of emerging technologies.