The Consulate General of Italy in Bengaluru will soon appoint a scientific attachè, said H.E. Antonio Bartoli, Ambassador of Italy to India.
“In view of having this Consulate covering the innovation side, we will post a scientific attachè in Bengaluru. We have this idea of creating a platform to help dialogue between our start-ups and the Indian ecosystem,” said Mr. Bartoli.
He and Matteo Perego di Cremnago, Italian Undersecretary of Defence, were talking to media persons after attending the Aero India show in the city.
With respect to partnerships in defence areas, Mr. Cremnago expressed interest in the transfer of technology and knowledge.
“We want to partner with India and have this approach of coproduction and transfer of know-how and technology more than selling products. Our priority is to focus on defence in different domains which involve maritime, cyber and airforce. For all these domains we discussed proposals today morning (sic). We will look at opportunities where we can help the Indian government in building capabilities, shipyards,” he said.
He further added that Italy is looking at opportunities to work with India in innovation and new technologies such as cyber domain, artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
“Bengaluru is the place to be for that, knowing that there is an ecosystem for new technologies here which is booming. So we want to be part of this growth for everyone, for our companies to be here,” he said.
After several years of strained relationship, India and Italy started mending ties in 2018 after then-Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte visited India. Both countries have since then enhanced their areas of cooperation, laid out strategic action plans and conducted joint naval exercises. Mr. Cremnago noted that Italy would soon deploy another asset from the Italian navy.
“This is a clear message that we want to be here, we want to partner with you, specifically in the maritime domain there are big opportunities for our companies,” he said adding that Italy’s defence minister will visit India in March to meet Rajnath Singh.
Mr. Bartoli also noted that Italy would like to sign a collaboration agreement to make it more convenient to use India as a hub for containers.
