Rome: Defence Minister Guido Crosetto‘s visit to India this week underscores the willingness of both countries to expand existing cooperation and explore new areas of collaboration, particularly within the framework of industrial partnership, Italy Ministry of Defence stated on Wednesday.

High-Level Talks on Defence Cooperation

“Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has traveled to India, where tomorrow he will meet his counterpart Shri Rajnath Singh. The Ministers will discuss a series of topics related to cooperation in the defence sector between our countries. An exchange of views is also planned on the main regional and global issues, in light of the evolving security landscape,” read a statement issued by Italy’s Ministry of Defence.

Growing Momentum in Bilateral Defence Ties

It mentioned that cooperation in the defence sector between Italy and India gained further momentum following Rajnath Singh’s visit to Rome in October 2023.

“Minister Crosetto’s visit to India underscores the willingness of both countries to expand existing cooperation and explore new areas of collaboration, particularly within the framework of industrial partnership,” the statement added.

Focus on Strategic and Global Issues

According to the Ministry of Defence India, the two ministers, during their meeting on Thursday are also expected to share their views on regional and global issues in view of the evolving security landscape besides a range of topics covering defence cooperation between the two countries.

“Defence cooperation between India and Italy gained further momentum after Raksha Mantri visited Rome in October 2023. Defence Minister Crosetto’s maiden visit to India underlines the desire of both nations to further expand existing cooperation and explore new areas of collaboration particularly under the industrial partnership domain,” New Delhi stated on Wednesday.

India-EU Partnership Adds Impetus

It highlighted that the signing of India-EU Defence and Strategic Partnership in January 2026 signals increasing strategic convergence and has provided further impetus to defence industrial cooperation in areas of mutual interest.