The Italian Ambassador to India Antonio Bartoli has pitched for Trieste port as key to the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, a key economic corridor that was launched at the Delhi G20 summit. The Port of Trieste, located in northeastern Italy on the Adriatic Sea, is one of the most significant and strategically positioned ports in Europe. 

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Speaking to WION's Sidhant Sibal, he said, "Trieste  is the best way, because once you arrive at Trieste, which is north of the Adriatic Sea...you are in the middle of Europe and infrastructures, because when you consider a port, you have to consider the infrastructures behind the port. So if there are trains, highways and so on, which is the case of Trieste". 

Historically, the port thrived under the Habsburg Empire (Austro-Hungarian Empire), earning “free port” status. Merchants from the Ottoman Empire, Britain, and India once flocked there, using its deep, sheltered harbor in the Gulf of Trieste to dock large vessels, making it a gateway to Europe.

The ambassador spoke at length on India-Italy ties, pointing to joint action plans and how the personal chemistry of the leaders has helped the relationship. He pointed out, "Indian and the Italian Prime Ministers have met five times, and the last one was in November, and they signed a joint action plan to give concrete contents to our strategic partnership." 

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The India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029, a comprehensive framework between the 2 countries, was announced in November 2024 during a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This five-year plan builds on the growing strategic partnership between the two nations, aiming to deepen collaboration across multiple sectors, including increasing economic engagements. 

Sidhant Sibal: How do you see this relationship which is on a very positive trajectory?

Antonio Bartoli: In two years, both the Indian and the Italian Prime Ministers have met five times, and the last one was in November, and they signed a joint action plan to give concrete contents to our strategic partnership. What does it mean. It means to identify, in a very pragmatic way, 10 areas of collaboration on which to focus, starting, of course, from structured political dialogue. We had the visit of Minister of Industry, the Ministry of Defense will come, The two deputy ministers of foreign affairs and defence came, and we will have, in April, on the 10th and 11th of April, a big business science and technology forum with a large delegation, both of companies and of universities and research centres, led by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of university research. So this is a practical demonstration that we want to go beyond rhetorical slogans and implement what we have planned to do.

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Sidhant Sibal: The personal chemistry between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Italian Prime Minister, how has it helped in the relationship?

Antonio Bartoli: Very much so, because, you know, this applies to many leaders, because in contemporary politics, the personal chemistry between leaders is crucial. Now is crucial. But is it enough? I don't think so. I mean, you cannot just rely on personal chemistry between two persons, even if at the top of their responsibilities. In this case, #Melodi is based on concrete complementarities. I will give you some examples, history and geography. We were trading partners at the time of the Roman Empire, the Golden Road between the empire of Augustus in Rome and the south of India, trading wine and black pepper was already there, 2000 years ago. And I think this IMEE or India Middle East Europe corridor is just a re-edition of what already existed. You want to develop a robust industrial manufacturing system. We are the second industrial powerhouse in Europe, and we are very good at machinery. So there is objective complementarity. Mobility, you have a huge labour basin. We have gaps in our labour market. So, we signed a mobility agreement to make it a win - win situation. So we will bring to Italy qualified (Indian) personnel, provided they are skilled here, beyond the quotas of migration. I gave you three examples in history, geography and the labor market that demonstrate that there are all the conditions to make it a real and thriving and growing partnership.

Sidhant Sibal: India Middle East Europe (IMEE) corridor, announced in Delhi, how do you see the Italian role in terms of being an important partner in making sure that this connectivity project sees the light of the day?

Antonio Bartoli: You know, the concept of Indo Pacific was invented by Shinzo Abe, the former Prime Minister of Japan, and he talked about the convergence of two seas. And we are talking about the convergence of three seas, the Indo Pacific and the Mediterranean. If you join that, you have 60% of the global trade, 70% of the investments. And so, as I said, history demonstrates that this was already happening 2000 years ago. Of course, it has to happen now, not only for goods, that time it was black pepper. But also, for data, data is new gold. An Italian company is putting a cable that will connect Mumbai to Genoa, north of Italy, and will be a high-speed data highway. Of course, there is a crisis in the Middle East. We hope that this ceasefire will stabilize. This is a great vision, but peace is a precondition to realize this. But at the same time, IMEE is also a powerful factor of stabilization of that region and of shared prosperity for all of us. So we are the natural terminal of that road. Probably Trieste is the best way, because once you arrive at Trieste, which is north of the Adriatic Sea, not by chance, was the port of the Austrian Hungarian empire, you are in the middle of Europe and infrastructures, because when you consider a port, you have to consider the infrastructures behind the port. So if there are trains, highways and so on, which is the case of Trieste.