India and Italy on Friday expressed their concern on the ongoing humanitarian crisis and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, Trend reports citing The Indian Express.
After visiting, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, the Ministry of External Affairs said, “On Ukraine, the two ministers expressed their concern on the ongoing humanitarian crisis and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. They also underlined the importance to safeguard the international order based on the UN Charter, with special regard to the respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The two Foreign Ministers reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations, including the progress in implementation of the 2020-24 Action Plan adopted at the virtual summit in November 2020.
“They welcomed the growing bilateral trade and investment linkages and agreed to expand them in new areas of common interest,” the MEA said.
“They also discussed the implementation of the India-Italy Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition announced last year during the Prime Minister’s visit to Italy and agreed to explore partnerships in areas such as gas transportation, green hydrogen, bio-fuels and energy storage. In addition, they agreed to jointly organise an India-Italy Tech Summit on Energy Transition and Circular Economy, to be held in Delhi on November 17, 2022,” the ministry said.
The two leaders noted the potential for a closer industrial collaboration, including in the field of defence. They reiterated their commitment to closely work in countering common challenges related to terrorism, violent extremism and cyber crime, it said.
“In the context of recent geopolitical developments, they also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interests, including Ukraine, Afghanistan and Indo-Pacific and cooperation in multilateral forum, including G20,” the MEA said.