The India–Italy Business Forum was held in Mumbai on 11 December 2025 during the visit of the Italian Deputy Prime Minister. This visit marked a significant milestone in advancing bilateral economic cooperation between India and Italy. Organised as part of the official visit of H.E. Mr. Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, the Forum brought together senior government leaders, industry associations, unicorn founders, and more than 150 Indian and Italian companies.

The Business Forum highlighted India and Italy’s shared commitment to strengthening industrial collaboration across priority sectors including Automotive, Waste-to-Energy & Renewables, Sport Technologies, Agri-food, and Connectivity, in alignment with both nations' focus on technology-driven growth and sustainable industrial development.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal and Hon’ble DPM Mr. Antonio Tajani held a bilateral meeting in Mumbai. Discussions centered on expanding trade, enhancing supply chain resilience, promoting technology partnerships, and deepening collaboration in clean mobility, green energy, advanced manufacturing, and food processing.

The Forum opened with parallel Sectoral Roundtables and Pitching Sessions featuring focused dialogues on emerging technologies, innovation, and investment models. The sectors included Automotives, Waste to Energy & Renewables, Sports Technologies & Sports Textiles and Agri-food.

These sessions enabled structured industry-to-industry interactions, pitching by Italian companies, and the identification of joint ventures, co-development avenues, R&D partnerships, and value-chain integrations.

The Italy–India Business Forum Plenary Session, attended by both Ministers, where the Sector leads presented outcomes from the Automotive, Renewables, Sports Tech and Agri-food dialogues. Speakers included representatives from CDP, Invest India, SACE, ASSOCHAM, SIMEST, FICCI, CII, Confindustria and the Italian Trade Agency.

Special Remarks were delivered by H.E. Mr. Antonio Tajani, followed by Closing Remarks by Shri Piyush Goyal, reaffirming the commitment to strengthening the India–Italy Strategic Partnership with a strong business and innovation focus.

The Ministers engaged with leading Indian Unicorns to explore cooperation in digital innovation, startup ecosystems, AI, deeptech, fintech, and industrial technology solutions.

The Forum also featured a large-scale B2B matchmaking session with over 100 business interactions between Indian and Italian companies across manufacturing, renewables, food processing, sports innovation, and transportation systems.

The defining outcome of the engagement was the formal signing of the Agreed Minutes of the 22nd session of the India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC). This signing operationalizes the productive discussions held during the JCEC sessions and establishes a concrete roadmap for future economic collaboration between the two nations.

Today’s discussions built upon the momentum generated by the elevation of bilateral ties to a "Strategic Partnership" during the visit of Italian Prime Minister H.E. Giorgia Meloni to New Delhi in March 2023.

Hosting the meeting in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, underscored the shared commitment of both governments to enhancing direct business-to-business connections and facilitating investment flows.

The meeting between the two Ministers and the signing of the 22nd JCEC minutes reflects the concrete resolve to translate the Strategic Partnership into tangible economic outcomes that benefit the people and businesses of both nations.

Italy continues to be a pivotal economic partner for India within the European Union. Today's meeting provided a significant impetus to trade dynamics, aiming to capitalize on the strong complementary strengths of both economies.

List of MoUs signed by the Indian and Italian companies -SIMEST and ICC have signed a strategic MoU to strengthen support for Italian companies expanding into India, promote bilateral investments, and enhance economic cooperation through structured business facilitation.

-SAIL has awarded three major steel plant projects to Italy’s Danieli Group, which will supply state-of-the-art green technology for a Blast Furnace, Slab Caster, and Hot Strip Mill with a combined capacity of over 4 million tonnes/year, representing a contract value of around €500 million.

-PRADA S.p.A., LIDCOM, and LIDKAR have signed an MoU to create a limited-edition sandal line inspired by traditional Kolhapuri chappals, blending Italian design with Indian craftsmanship.

-Kuvera S.p.A. and Neopolis Brands Pvt. Ltd. have entered into an agreement to expand Carpisa retail operations in India, with a long-term plan to open 100 stores by 2045.

-Cavagna Group has established a new joint venture, Cavagna Group Ace Brass Tech Pvt. Ltd., together with Mr. Gatayla, marking a €5 million Italian investment with Cavagna holding a 51% stake.

The Italy–India Business Forum 2025 concluded on a strong and forward-looking note, reinforcing bilateral ambitions to build resilient supply chains, promote sustainable growth, and expand cooperation across high-technology sectors.

The Forum has further elevated the India–Italy Strategic Partnership, setting the stage for deeper economic linkages, enhanced market access, and expanded collaboration in innovation-driven industries.

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Abhishek Dayal/ Shabbir Azad

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