Italian Ambassador to India Antonio Bartoli on Thursday, 22 October described the India-Italy relationship as a 'result-driven partnership' that continues to make 'unprecedented headway', crediting the personal chemistry between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as a key enabler. Bartoli made the remarks at the NDTV World Summit in New Delhi, in a session titled 'The West, Rewired: The New Transatlantic Order'.

What the Partnership Covers

Speaking on the evolution of the India-Italy Special Strategic Partnership, Bartoli outlined a wide-ranging roadmap spanning trade, defence, space, energy, security, mobility, and people-to-people ties. On trade, he cited a bilateral target of USD 20 billion by 2029, saying that 'things are moving' on both trade and investment fronts.

Bartoli underscored the geographic and economic logic of the partnership. 'We are two peninsulas and so we are interested in connecting the respective seas,' he said, pointing to Italy's position as 'the second industrial powerhouse in Europe' and India's ambitions to strengthen its manufacturing base. He noted that the two prime ministers have agreed to designate next year as the Year of Culture and Tourism in both countries.

India's Evolving Global Role

Bartoli highlighted what he described as India's transition from non-alignment to multi-alignment and from a passive to an active global player. 'New Delhi is no more a spectator,' he said, adding that India's higher diplomatic profile comes with greater responsibilities that Italy and its partners actively welcome.

On the question of India playing a larger peacemaking role, Bartoli was direct: 'We certainly assist to a growing role of India... that comes with a greater role, come also greater responsibilities.' He stressed that the effects of global conflicts are immediately globalised, meaning no country can treat distant wars as purely regional concerns.

Ukraine War and Global Interconnections

Bartoli argued that the Russia-Ukraine conflict cannot be dismissed as merely a European problem. He noted that the war has concrete consequences for consumers worldwide — including through rising fuel prices linked also to tensions involving Iran — and that choke points such as the Black Sea and Bab el-Mandeb strait have global food security implications. 'All this is interconnected and affects everyone,' he said.

Australia Flags China Military Build-Up

Also on the panel, Australian High Commissioner Philip Green voiced concern about China's military build-up, describing it as 'the fastest military build-up of any country anywhere in the world since the Second World War.' He said Australia is worried about Chinese naval deployments — including live-firing exercises in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand without adequate warning — and China's test-firing of intercontinental ballistic missiles landing near small island states of the southwest Pacific.

Green recounted how Australia weathered a period of economic pressure when approximately USD 20 billion worth of trade with China was disrupted, saying that roughly 96 per cent of that trade found alternative markets, making Australia 'more resilient and resolute.' He summarised Canberra's China policy as: 'We cooperate where we can, we disagree where we must, and we always act in our national interest.'

The session also featured European Union Ambassador Jean-Eric Paquet and German Ambassador Jasper Wieck, reflecting the broad Western interest in recalibrating partnerships with India at a moment of heightened global uncertainty. As India's diplomatic weight grows, the question of how it chooses to exercise that influence — particularly on conflicts like Ukraine — will increasingly define its relationships with partners in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.