India and Italy are set to deepen their scientific partnership with a new joint research call planned for 2027, following a bilateral meeting between Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh and Italy's Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, according to an official statement released on Friday, 13 November 2026. The discussions centred on translating the India-Italy Strategic Partnership into concrete scientific collaboration across emerging technology domains.

Key Areas of Collaboration

The proposed 2027 joint research call will focus on three priority clusters: artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing, and big data; clean technologies including hydrogen, renewable energy, and the energy transition; and advanced biotechnology and biomedical research, with specific emphasis on gene therapy, mRNA technologies, and biomanufacturing.

These areas reflect global technology priorities and align with both nations' domestic innovation agendas. The call will be launched under the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India's Ministry of Science and Technology and Italy's Ministry of University and Research (MUR), which was signed during an Italian delegation visit to New Delhi in April 2025.

A Partnership Decades in the Making

The science and technology relationship between the two countries has deep roots. The first Inter-governmental Agreement in Science and Technology between India and Italy was signed in 1978 and renewed on 28 November 2003. Over the decades, the two sides have supported bilateral scientific activities through the Indo-Italian Executive Programme of Cooperation (EPOC), under which more than 150 joint projects have been implemented, according to government figures.

The current EPOC for 2025–27, signed on 10 April 2025, provides for the joint funding of 10 researcher mobility proposals and 10 significant research proposals. The first India-Italy Science and Innovation Dialogue was held in New Delhi on 11 April 2025, with a second edition in 2026 being organised as a continuation of this engagement.

Strategic Upgrade in Bilateral Ties

The science cooperation is embedded within a broader diplomatic framework. India-Italy relations were elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni jointly announced the Joint Strategic Action Plan (JSAP) for 2025–2029 in November 2024, providing a formal roadmap for cooperation across multiple sectors.

As a follow-up, an Italian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, accompanied by Minister Bernini, visited New Delhi in April 2025 — a visit that produced the current MoU and set the stage for the forthcoming 2027 research call.

What Singh Said

Dr. Singh expressed confidence that the two countries would sustain their close ties to promote practical, ecosystem-driven cooperation. He assured full support from the Indian side and underscored the importance of leveraging the science, technology, and innovation ecosystems of both nations for tangible outcomes.

With the 2027 research call now in the pipeline, the two nations are expected to finalise thematic guidelines and selection criteria in the coming months, potentially involving institutions from both countries' leading universities and research bodies.