India–Italy relations

2021-06-28T17:29:45Z

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{{Short description|1=Diplomatic relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Italy}}
{{Infobox bilateral relations
| mission1 =Embassy of India, [[Rome]]
| mission2 =Embassy of Italy, [[New Delhi]]
| envoytitle1 =Indian Ambassador to [[Italy]]
| envoy1 =[[Reenat Sandhu]]
| envoytitle2 =Italian Ambassador to [[India]]
| envoy2 =Vincenzo de Luca
|India-Italy|India|Italy}}

'''India–Italy relations''' refers to the international relations that exist between [[India]] and [[Italy]]. India maintains an [[Embassy of India, Rome|Embassy in Rome]], and a Consulate-General in [[Milan]]. Italy has an embassy in [[New Delhi]], and Consulate-Generals in [[Mumbai]] and [[Kolkata]]. The relations are characterized by warmth and friendship.

== Early history ==

=== Indo-Roman relations ===
{{main|Indo-Roman relations|Indo-Roman trade relations}}
[[File:Roman gold coins excavated in Pudukottai India one coin of Caligula 31 41 and two coins of Nero 54 68.jpg|thumb|300px|Roman coins depicting [[Caligula]] and [[Nero]] found in [[Pudukkottai]], Tamil Nadu.]]
Relations between India and Italy date back to ancient times. Works from authors such as [[Diodorus Siculus]]' ''Library of History'', [[Arrian]]'s ''Indika'', and [[Pliny the Elder]]'s ''Natural History'' make references to India. Trade links flourished between India and the [[Roman Empire]], particularly in the first and second century AD. Caches of Roman coins have been discovered across the Indian peninsula, and evidence indicates the existence of permanent settlements of Roman merchants in [[South India]]. The discovery of an Indian ivory statuette in the ruins of [[Pompeii]] confirms that goods were traded both ways. The Roman Empire and Indian civilizations also exchanged diplomatic missions. An Indian embassy sailed from [[Bharuch]] (referred to as Barygaza by the Romans) in 25 BC and arrived in Rome four years later. Records also exist of Indian embassies being sent to [[Trajan]], [[Antoninus Pius]], [[Julian the Apostate]] and [[Justinian]].<ref name="Storia">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/ambasciata_newdelhi/en/i_rapporti_bilaterali/cooperazione_politica/storia|title=Storia|website=www.ambnewdelhi.esteri.it|access-date=2016-10-08}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===
Relations and trade between the [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]] and India ended after the fall of the Roman Empire, but resumed after a few centuries. In the [[Middle Ages]], Italian merchants once again began to ply the old routes towards the east used by the Romans. The most notable among these merchants was [[Marco Polo]], who visited south-east India and ports such as Kayak, Comorin (now [[Kanyakumari]]), Quilon (now [[Kollam]]), [[Thana]], [[Somnath]] and [[Cambay]]. Marco Polo published his travelogue ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo]]'' in which he described the life and customs in India at the end of the 13th century.<ref name = "Storia"/>

Many other notable [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] also visited India. [[Niccolò de' Conti]] left [[Venice]] in 1419 to visit the [[Middle East]], [[Persia]] and then India. Conti traversed the Indian peninsula from coast to coast, and also moved inland to [[Vijayanagara]]. [[Cesare Federici]] set sail from Venice in 1563 towards the east. He visited Vijayanagara and the present-day state of [[Kerala]], documenting his travels in ''Viaggio nell'India Orientale et oltra l'India nel quale si contengono cose dilettevoli'', ''1587''. Venetian merchant and jeweler, [[Gasparo Balbi]] visited Persia and India in 1579–88, publishing his experiences in ''Viaggio dell'Indie Orientali, di Gasparo Balbi, Gioielliero Venetiano'', ''1590''. Ambrosio Bembo travelled from Venice in 1671 and spent four years visiting the Middle East, India and Persia. He documented his visits to [[Goa]] and Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]) in his journal ''Viaggio e giornale per parte dell'Asia di quattro anni circa fatto da me Ambrosio Bembo, Nobile Veneto''. Nicolo Manucci left Venice at the age of fourteen and headed to India. He served the [[Mughal Empire]] and later died in India. Manucci's ''Storia do Mogor'' is among the most detailed histories of the Mughal Empire (in the period 1653–1708) written by a contemporary European observer.<ref name="Storia" />

Visitors also came from other regions of Italy. [[Filippo Sassetti]], a scholar and humanist from [[Florence]], also visited India. He died in Goa in 1588. Sassetti wrote several letters in which he noted similarities between [[Sanskrit]] and [[Italian language|Italian]]. [[Pietro della Valle]] from Rome arrived in India in 1624, where he visited [[Surat]], Goa and [[Keladi]]. He published ''Travels in Persia and India'' between 1658 and 1663. [[Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri]], a lawyer from [[Naples]], visited South India during a trip around the world he had begun 1693. Gemelli Careri provides a detailed description of the camp of Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]] during the [[Aurangzeb#Viceroy of the Deccan|Deccan campaign]] in 1695, in ''Giro Intorno al Mondo'', published in 1699. Many other Italians have also visited India and their names are mentioned on old chronicles. Apart from merchants and travelers, Italians also served in other roles in India such as physicians and artillerymen. Italian [[Jean-Baptiste Ventura]] contributed to the organization of the infantry in the army of [[Ranjit Singh]] in the 1830s and 40s.<ref name="Storia" />

=== British Raj ===
During the [[British Raj]], trade and travel between India and Italy reduced significantly due to prevailing political conditions. Italian scholars participated in Sanskrit studies, and [[Gaspare Gorresio]] created the first Chair of Sanskrit in Italy at the [[University of Turin]] in 1852. Gorresio translated the ''[[Ramayana]]'' into Italian. It was published as ''Ramayana, poema indiano di Valmichi'' in ten volumes between 1843 and 1858. The [[Italian unification]] movement inspired some Indian freedom fighters, and the works of the Italian patriot [[Giuseppe Mazzini]] were translated and widely read by Indian intelligentsia.<ref name="Storia" />
[[File:Gandhi Rome.jpg|thumb|Mahatma Gandhi in Rome.]]
[[Mahatma Gandhi]] accepted an invitation to visit Rome in December 1931 and meet then-Prime Minister [[Benito Mussolini]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Indo-Italian Cultural Relations|url=http://www.indianembassyrome.in/eoi.php?id=Cultural|website=www.indianembassyrome.in|access-date=8 October 2016}}</ref> Mussolini hailed Gandhi as a "genius and a saint" and admired his ability to challenge the [[British Empire]]. After his visit, Gandhi wrote a letter to a friend stating, "Mussolini is a riddle to me. Many of his reforms attract me. He seems to have done much for the [[peasant class]]. I admit an iron hand is there. But as violence is the basis of [[Western society]], Mussolini's reforms deserve an impartial study ... What strikes me is that behind Mussolini's implacability is a desire to serve his people. Even behind his emphatic speeches there is a nucleus of sincerity and of passionate love for his people. It seems to me that the majority of the Italian people love the iron government of Mussolini." Gandhi also hailed Mussolini as the “one of the great statesmen of our time." However, by the time [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italy invaded Abyssinia]] in 1935, Gandhi disavowed Mussolini.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/mussolini-gandhi-strange-bedfellows-214200|title=Mussolini and Gandhi: Strange Bedfellows|date=2012-03-03|newspaper=International Business Times|access-date=2016-10-08}}</ref>

In the 1940s, during [[World War II]], the British brought Italian [[prisoners of war]], who were captured in either [[Europe]] or [[North Africa]], to [[Bangalore]] and [[Madras]]. They were put up at the [[Bangalore Cantonment|Garrison Grounds]], today's Parade Grounds-Cubbon Road area.<sup>[[Italians in India#cite note-4|[4]]]</sup> In February 1941, about 2,200 Italian prisoners of war arrived in Bangalore by a special train and were marched to internment camps at Byramangala, 20 miles from Bangalore.<sup>[[Italians in India#cite note-5|[5]]]</sup>

Indian forces played a role in liberating Italy from Nazi control. India contributed the 3rd largest Allied contingent in the Italian campaign after US and British forces. The 4th, 8th and 10th Divisions and 43rd Gurkha Infantry Brigade led the advance, notably at the gruelling [[Battle of Monte Cassino]].

==Modern history==
{{further|2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal|Enrica Lexie case}}Diplomatic relations between the Republic of India and the Italian Republic were established in 1947. Indian Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] visited Italy in 1953. President [[Oscar Luigi Scalfaro]] was the first Italian head of state to visit India in February 1995. President [[Carlo Azeglio Ciampi]] visited India in February 2005.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.indianembassyrome.in/eoi.php?id=Visits|title=India-Italy High Level Visits|website=www.indianembassyrome.in|access-date=2016-10-08}}</ref>

[[Romano Prodi]] became the first Italian Prime Minister to visit India in February 2007. Indian Prime Minister [[Manmohan Singh]] visited Italy to attend the [[35th G8 summit]] at [[L'Aquila]] in July 2009. External Affairs Minister [[S.M. Krishna]] represented India at the 150th [[Anniversary of the Unification of Italy|anniversary celebrations of the Unification of Italy]] in Rome In June 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.indianembassyrome.in/eoi.php?id=Political|title=India-Italy Political Relations|website=www.indianembassyrome.in|access-date=2016-10-08}}</ref>

After some years of tensions due to the [[Enrica Lexie case|case]] of the two Italian [[marines]] accused of killing two fishermen off the coast of [[Kerala]], the two countries revived normal relations thanks to Prime Ministers [[Paolo Gentiloni]] and [[Narendra Modi]].<ref>[http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/business-and-economy/2017-04-21/india-represents-new-frontier-for-italian-mechanical-businesses-121630.php?uuid=AEHJWB9 India can become a key market for Italian machinery makers]</ref> The two leaders described Gentiloni's visit in India in 2017 as a "new beginning" and a great opportunity for both countries.<ref>[http://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/articoli/Paolo-Gentiloni-in-India-vertice-con-il-premier-Modri-Grande-opportunita-di-rilancio-c75c0afc-04dc-4da2-9f3b-8f5e79c7fdd2.html Paolo Gentiloni in India, vertice con il premier Modi: "Grande opportunità di rilancio"]</ref>

==Economic relations==

===Bilateral trade===
Bilateral trade between India and Italy grew by 12 times in the 2 decades between 1991 and 2011, from EUR 708 million to EUR 8.5 billion. Bilateral trade began experiencing a decline from 2012, decreasing to €7.1 billion in 2012 and €6.95 billion in 2013.<ref name="Economic Cooperation">{{cite web|title=Economic Cooperation|url=http://www.ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/ambasciata_newdelhi/en/i_rapporti_bilaterali/cooperazione_economica|website=www.ambnewdelhi.esteri.it|access-date=8 October 2016}}</ref>

On November 29, 2017, India and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for enhancing bilateral cooperation in the health sector.
This MoU was signed between Union Health Minister J P Nadda and the visiting Italian Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin.
The MoU envisages cooperation in health sector by pooling in technical, financial and human resources for accomplishing the ultimate objective to upgrade infrastructural resources, medical education and research in both countries.
Activities to be carried out under the scope of this MoU include exchange and training of doctors, setting up of health care facilities and promotion of business development opportunities in pharmaceuticals.

===Foreign direct investment===
Italian companies invested €694 million in India in 2011, and over €1 billion in 2012. As of December 2012, Italy had an accumulated investment of €3.75 billion in India, or 9% of the total European Union FDI in India.<ref name="Economic Cooperation"/>

Indian investment in Italy grew from €584 million in 2004 to €10 billion in 2011. Italy accounted for 2.3% of India's total investment in the European Union.<ref name="Economic Cooperation"/>

==See also==
* ''[[Roam Rome Mein]]''
* [[Embassy of India, Rome]]
* [[Indians in Italy]]
* [[Italians in India]]
* [[Arikamedu]]
* [[Roberto de Nobili]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Meenakshi Jain, The India They Saw : Foreign accounts (co-edited with Sandhya Jain, 4 Volumes, Prabhat Prakashan), {{ISBN|8184301065}}, {{ISBN|8184301073}}, {{ISBN|8184301081}}, {{ISBN|818430109X}}.
*[[R. C. Majumdar|Majumdar, R. C.]] (1981). The Classical accounts of India: Being a compilation of the English translations of the accounts left by [[Herodotus]], [[Megasthenes]], [[Arrian]], [[Strabo]], [[Quintus]], [[Diodorus]], [[Siculus]], [[Justin (historian)|Justin]], [[Plutarch]], [[Frontinus]], [[Nearchus]], [[Apollonius of Tyana|Apollonius]], [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], [[Ptolemy]], [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], and others with maps. Calcutta: Firma KLM.

==External links==
{{commons category|Relations of India and Italy}}
* [http://www.indianembassyrome.in/index.php Embassy of India in Rome]
* [http://www.ambnewdelhi.esteri.it/ambasciata_newdelhi/en/ Embassy of Italy in New Delhi]

{{Foreign relations of India}}
{{Foreign relations of Italy}}

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[[Category:India–Italy relations| ]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of India|Italy]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of Italy]]

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India–Italy relations