Coming after more than a decade, the visit of Italian Prime Minister is aimed at strengthening bilateral, political and economic relations, says External Affairs Ministry
After more than five years of tension, relations between India and Italy are on the path to recovery, with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni travelling to New Delhi on October 30. Officials here in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have described the visit a major "breakthrough" to put at rest the strain in the relations, which had nose dived after India insisted to prosecute two Italian marines Chief Master Sergeant Massimiliano Latorre, and Sergeant Salvatore Girone who on February 15, 2012 shot dead two Indian fishermen at sea, approximately 20.5 nautical miles off Kerala mistaking them as terrorists. After protracted negotiations, both countries have referred the case to the UN arbitration court to adjudicate the jurisdiction of Indian courts to put the two marines on trial, while allowing them to return to their country. Italy claimed the ship was in international waters and hence only subject to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
"Ties between the two countries were virtually in a freeze over the Marines issue," said former Ambassador to Italy Anil Wadhwa, who was tasked with restarting the dialogue process when he arrived in Rome in March 2016. But the talk restarted after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited the Vatican for the canonisation of Mother Teresa in September last year. She took the opportunity to meet the Italian leaders. Her diplomatic acumen led Italy to reverse its decision to block India from the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). The move also helped the European Union (EU) also to reengage India on trade and other issues.
"Coming after a gap of more than a decade, the visit of Italian Prime Minister is aimed at strengthening bilateral, political and economic relations between the two countries," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
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