Ties with India relaunched, also with steel industry - Urso

by Enrico Tibuzzi (ANSA) - MUMBAI, DEC 1 - Relations between Italy and India have reached a whole new level and must now vie for a "technological and industrial partnership" which, by also relaunching investments, could attract Indian companies back to invest in the Italian steel industry, from Piombino to Taranto.
    The fourth day of the Italian Amerigo Vespucci vessel in Mumbai and the second since the official opening of Villaggio Italia which accompanies it was marked by the arrival of Business and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso.
    Right after reaching the economic and financial capital of the Indian subcontinent, Urso worked on contacts that could give an important contribution and relaunch steel production in Italy.
    The visit was the first by an Italian minister to India since the signature in November, one the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio, of a strategic five-year plan redesigning relations between the two countries and finally leaving behind tensions that accompanied the case of the Italian marines.
    India is set to become in 2027 the world's third economy, remaining by a large margin the most populous country.
    And this while Indian investment flows in Italy have grown by 35.7% and Italian investment flows in India have gone up 6.7%, reaching 6.4 billion euros.
    This occurred while exchanges grew by 64.5%.
    By 2025, the digital highway that will connect Genoa to Mumbai should be completed and today it has reached the Indian city with the completion of the installation of an underwater cable made by Sparkle.
    "We have completed the Oman-India connection - said the CEO of Sparkle, Enrico Bagnasco, who is also in Mumbai - and over the next few months, going through Tel Aviv, the connection that has reached today Crete will arrive by land to Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea".
    However, it will then be necessary to pass in front of Yemen, and the security issue is more serious there.
    "Our partnership must take on a technological and industrial nature", stressed Urso.
    "Italy, also thanks to the actions implemented to facilitate foreign investments, can become the platform from which Indian companies can depart to access the European market", he noted.
    Vice versa, India can be the base for Italian companies that want to operate in the country and in the whole area of South-East Asia, said the minister.
    The sectors with major perspectives of development in Italian-Indian economic relations are many.
    Addressing a conference on the blue and space economy, the minister highlighted how Italy and India in this context have technological knowledge and needs that make them natural partners.
    This is true starting with the monitoring of climate change and the exploration of space, as well as the exploitation of the seabed and the conservation of marine species, to mention a few.
    However, it is in the steel sector that Urso could achieve new goals during his Indian mission.
    Before reaching Villaggio Italia, he met with the management of Jindal, the Indian company that should forge an agreement on a program over the next few months to work in parallel with the Ukrainian Metinvest to give new impetus to the plant in Piombino through a green transition.
    And in the coming days, the minister should also meet with representatives of Vulcan Steel, the company that has expressed interest in taking over the former Ilva steelworks in Taranto.
    Meanwhile the very intense flow of Indian visitors is continuing, with endless queues, to visit the best of Made in Italy showcased at Villaggio Italia and to see the splendid sailing vessel docked a few dozen metres away.
    Such crowds, stressed Defence Undersecretary Matteo Perego di Cremnago, give "great satisfaction" and confirm the importance of the world tour promoted by Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.
    The event in Mumbai was also attended by the Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal who held bilateral talks with Urso and and stopped to look at the Italian excellencies exhibited at the Villagio Italia, devoting particular attention to the videos and photos on the Mose.
    (ANSA).