During his address to the Joint Session of the Italian Senate's External Affairs and Defence Commission and the EU Affairs Commission in Rome, India's External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, highlighted Italy's historical significance as India's oldest connection with Europe. He emphasized Italy's recent pivotal role in strengthening cooperation with the European Union and the ongoing negotiations, including a crucial free trade agreement. He underscored the rarity of a trade and technology council between the EU, the US, and India, signifying their close coordination on technology issues. Jaishankar also acknowledged the challenges posed by COVID's impact on the global economy, the setback in sustainable development goals, and the complexities of international trade. This address occurred during his official visit to Portugal and Italy from October 31 to November 3.
The transcript of EAM address is :-
Let me begin by emphasizing that there could be no better way to start a visit to Italy, to Rome, than to begin with the Senate. You are a great democratic institution in global history. And as a representative of another ancient democracy, as someone for whom pluralism, diversity, consultation, these are the qualities which mark our politics, it's a real pleasure to be here.
I particularly applaud the formation of the Parliamentary Friendship Group. We were very pleased at the P20, which you had just referred to, Senator. And I also would say that our collaboration in the IPU and other parliamentary bodies has been really excellent.
This is my fourth visit as Foreign Minister to Italy in the last four and a half years. I came here in 2019 for a visit and to take part in the Mediterranean Dialogue. I was here for the Foreign Minister's visit when you were Chair of the G20. I accompanied Prime Minister Modi for the G20 Summit, and here I am again. The last...and I should add that it is a country where I've actually spent a lot of my personal time. Whenever I've taken holidays, many of them have been in Italy, I have friends here, so it's always very, very good to be back.
In recent times, I think, the relationship has benefited immensely from the fact that your Prime Minister, Prime Minister Meloni, was in India. Again, she was there twice, once for the G20, once on a bilateral visit. My Prime Minister was here a few years ago as well. And this energy, the fact that it's such a key relationship today is reflected not just politically. Italy is today our fourth largest trade partner in the European Union. Italian companies, there are, I believe, almost 750 of them which have invested more than $6.3 billion in foreign investment in India. There are 150 Indian companies here. So by any objective standards, I think it's a substantial relationship. It's a good relationship. But like any other, it can always be bigger, better, stronger.
The last few years, as I noted, have seen a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. We welcome the fact that Italy opened a Consulate in our tech city of Bengaluru recently. The fact, again, that from last year, direct flights have resumed between our countries, that's a very important part of keeping up a relationship; that this year, we have renewed our defence agreement, when my colleague, the Defence Minister, was here just a few weeks ago; that we have today ship visits and naval cooperation; that there is an Italian liaison officer who is deployed at our fusion centre for maritime cooperation. The fact that we have now more than 5,000 students in Italy, and that we have a diaspora here, which is about 180,000 people. So if you look at these numbers, and many of these are relatively recent developments. I think they augur very well for where our ties are going.
Italy is surely, I think historically, among our oldest links with Europe. And I will come to the connectivity and what, Senator, you call the cotton road, which in many ways is like a revival return of history. But in recent years, I would say, Italy has also made a very major contribution to strengthening our cooperation with the European Union as a whole.
We are, since 2021, in the midst of negotiating a set of agreements, the most important of which is a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, one on geographical indications, also on investment. Just this morning, I was reviewing where we were with my Trade Ministers. These are complex negotiations, and I think even by comparative standards of Free Trade Agreements, I think the one with the European Union is generally regarded all over the world as the most, I would say, perhaps one of the highest standards and therefore the greatest difficulty in negotiation.
We also have, last year, set up a Trade and Technology Council with the European Union. The EU only has two of these Councils, one with the United States and one with India. And the fact that the three of us; because we also have a similar forum with the US; the fact that the EU, the US, and India are today coordinating and cooperating very closely on technology matters is something which is very important to recognize.
In recent years, there have also been more conversations between us on connectivity, as I mentioned. And we very much welcome, both Italy and the European Union's greater interest in the Indo-Pacific. For us, your presence there, your activities there, your interest there is a stabilizing factor. And I think in a globalized world, it is important that all of us take an interest in all corners of the world to the best of our ability. And for us, this too has emerged as a new facet of our cooperation. And finally, as I said, that we both believe in a rules-based order. When it comes to big international issues, the cooperation in multilateral institutions, there is much more that brings us together than keeps us apart.
I want to also mention here, again in a European context, but it applies equally, I would say not equally, but especially to Italy, that when we from India look at who are our key partners today, definitely the EU and the EU member states and that too a member state like Italy would rank very, very high; would rank high, as I said, in political cooperation, in technology cooperation. We look to you in many cases for best practices. And I think our cooperation in dealing with the big global challenges, challenges especially like climate change or countering terrorism or ensuring maritime security, I think this will happen effectively at a global level only when entities like the European Union and countries like India are able to work together closely.
Having said that, let me step back and share with you how we see the world today. We see, very frankly, very difficult times ahead, very turbulent times ahead, and there are many reasons for this. If one takes just the last five years, I think the impact on the global economy certainly, but even on society, of COVID has been very, very traumatic. There are still many countries and many societies which have not recovered from it. We have seen that progress in sustainable development goals in many countries has been rolled back, that many more countries today are facing financial economic crisis. Debt is a very big problem. Trade has been very challenging. And on top of that, we've had the conflict in Ukraine, and that has affected, in a globalized world, it has affected every part of the world. It may be different. I know in Europe, because the conflict is at your doorstep, in fact, in a way, right in Europe, this is in many ways the most intense and obviously the most affected part. But in even further regions, I've seen today energy problems, food problems, fertilizer problems, inflation, all of this, in many cases, directly driven by what has come out of the Ukraine conflict. We also are now watching with increasing concern; Senator, you referred to the Middle East, I think both of you, and where that would go, I think is a very difficult question to answer. Obviously, all of us will have an interest in ensuring that there is no escalation. But it is definitely an issue of concern.
Now, in terms of solutions, how does the world respond to all of this? We think today that it is important for countries to build more reliable and resilient supply chains, because what we experienced during COVID should not continue to happen. It should not be that most of manufacturing and most of supplies are located in one part of the world, and if something happens in that part of the world, all of us are at risk. Secondly, it's important as market economies, as democratic societies, that we also cooperate among ourselves to build supply chains which are more predictable, which are more governed by rules, which are more stable, which are less political. So I think how to re-globalize today, how to ensure that there is more centers of production, how to create new supply chains, additional supply chains, is a very big challenge, and it is certainly something which Italy and India should be working together.
A related issue is in the digital domain. I think every day we are waking up to what the consequences of data are on our life, and as we move into a world of artificial intelligence, we move really into a data-driven existence. How to manage data, what should be the rules, this is today perhaps the most crucial question. Not just an economical question, not a technology question only, but actually in many ways even a security question. And Europe has responded in certain ways. It is obviously evolving. We are dealing with many of those same challenges. So the key issue for us is how is the digital domain handled with the necessary trust and with the necessary transparency. How can we be comfortable that if your data comes to me, it is handled in a manner in which you will be comfortable, and the other way around. I think this too, is a very major issue today in the world, and I believe it is an issue where India and the European Union, India and Italy, should be working very closely.
Now, when I look at even the last few years, it is for me, very reassuring that many of the big initiatives that India has taken, Italy has been very supportive, has been a member in many of them. After the COP21 in Paris, we started something called the International Solar Alliance. Italy is a member. A few years later, we led something called the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, whose intent was to prepare for disasters and to counter it by preparation. Italy, again, has been a strong member. Just recently, at the G20, some of us concluded this Agreement on the India-Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC), I think you referred to it as Cotton Road. And again, we are very happy to see Italy there. Similarly, we have been very strongly advocating a Global Biofuels Alliance. There too Italy has joined. And I was informed just recently that, an initiative in our part of the world called the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, which was proposed by India at the East Asian Summit. Italy has accepted the responsibility of leading its sixth pillar, which is a pillar on science and technology and academic exchanges. So the point I wish to emphasize here is, when one looks at what we are doing in the world, we mostly find it, in Italy, a partner, a member, someone a country with which we can work very closely. And I think that's a very important aspect of our cooperation.
I would also like to draw to your attention. We are, as I said, moving into not just a more globalized economy, but also a more knowledge-driven economy. And such a knowledge-driven economy will require more mobility, that we will need systems and arrangements for people to move to create a global workplace. And we need to have the rules for a global workplace. We want a legal global workplace, not a workplace which is often, I would say, misused by people who prey on migration. So one of the purposes of my visit to Rome is to sign an Agreement, which I think we will be doing today, with our Italian counterparts on a Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement. We believe that this is something which will definitely help to create a legal basis for mobility of professionals and skills and talent in demand in either society between us.
I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all of you, and through you, really Italy as a country, for the enormous support we got during our G20 presidency. It's still a presidency. We still have a Virtual Summit to do on November 22nd. But the fact that in New Delhi, in September, we were able to find common ground on difficult issues, difficult issues between the East and the West, and also between the North and the South, geopolitical issues, but also development issues. I think we were helped by the fact that many countries actively cooperated, assisted, made their contributions to finding solutions, and definitely Italy was one of them. And I think it is important that I express our gratitude and appreciation for it.
So let me, Senator, conclude here in terms of my initial remarks. I'd be very happy to respond to any questions people may have. But I'll leave one last thought with you. In different parts of the world, people have an image of India. It is an image which often comes from history, from culture, from tradition. But I also want you to recognize that there is a new India, a different India in the making. It is an India which is capable of not just a lunar landing, but a lunar landing of a very difficult nature. It is an India which has today created its own 5G stack in telecommunications, which is deploying it at the fastest rate today in the world, which is working on its 6G stack as well. It is an India which could make vaccines for the world during COVID, but also could invent its own vaccine, and it could create a digital platform where two and a half billion vaccinations could take place very smoothly.
So it is an India which is today really much more open to business, which would like to see more tourism, which would like to see more exchanges with the world. Certainly, a society which is very proud of its traditions and heritage, but also very keen to contribute to the world. So whether we did it during COVID by supplying vaccines to 100 countries or whether today we are first responders who, from the Turkiye earthquake to landslides in the Indian Ocean region, our people are there. It is an India which definitely sees itself as a climate action leader. So you will find in India a very open-minded partner, a partner willing to work with Italy in creating a better world.
So once again, I thank you today for the opportunity of meeting all of you, of sharing my thoughts.
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