Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, March 2, 2023 pressed India to play a central role in facilitating a negotiation process to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
India, which holds this year’s Presidency of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries, could represent the vulnerabilities and needs of less-developed nations in such a process, Meloni noted in a statement following talks with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
The Prime Minister of Italy denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine and underscored its adverse impact on developing countries in terms of food and energy security.
“India may play a central role in facilitating a negotiating process for cessation of hostilities” in Ukraine, Meloni opined.
Modi reiterated his cautious stand by reaffirming that peace can be achieved only through diplomacy and dialogue, saying, “India is ready to support a peace initiative in that direction.”
So far, India has refrained from directly criticizing Russia’s invasion. The two have been allies since the Cold War-era and New Delhi depends on Moscow for nearly 60% of its defense equipment.
India has increasingly bought Russian oil since the invasion a year ago, initially facing scrutiny from the U.S. and other allies over its growing purchases. That pressure has since waned and India has continued to abstain from voting in U.N. resolutions that condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Meloni is on her first visit to India after becoming Italy’s Prime Minister in October last year.
Meloni disclosed that trade between her country and India has doubled in two years to more than $53 billion. Both sides have called for expanding cooperation in defense, green energy, digital transition, cyber security and space.
Primary Indian exports to Italy include ready-made garments, leather, iron ore, motor vehicles, textiles, chemicals, gems and jewelry. India mainly imports from Italy machinery, machine tools, metallurgical products and engineering items. Around 140 large Italian companies are active in India.
Meloni conveyed to Modi her government’s desire to reboot defense ties with India. Modi said there were ample opportunities in defense manufacturing and co-production. He iterated that the two countries will start joint military exercises and training courses for military personnel.
Their military ties were damaged in 2014 after India canceled a $670 million contract for 12 helicopters after Italian defense giant Finmeccanica was accused of bribing Indian contacts to secure the deal.
India had received three helicopters and stopped the delivery of the remaining nine AW1010 helicopters.
India, China Foreign Ministers Hold Talks To Mend Ties
In the spirit of mending broken ties, the Foreign Ministers of India and China also met on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
Their meeting, which occurred on the sidelines of a gathering in New Delhi of top diplomats from the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations, signaled a thaw in their relationship, which has been tense since 2020.
Indian Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar disclosed that the talks with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, “focused on addressing current challenges to the bilateral relationship, especially peace and tranquility in the border areas.”
“There are real problems in that relationship that need to be looked at, that need to be discussed very openly and candidly between us. That’s what we sought to do today.”
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Qin, who is in India for the G-20 meeting, met with Jaishankar a day after Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Mao Ning said that “China attaches great importance to India.”
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