(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni arrived in New Delhi on a state visit aimed at boosting ties after a lull following a face-off over two Italian marines.
This is the first visit to India in a decade by an Italian prime minister since Romano Prodi visited in 2007.
Gentiloni, who is accompanied by a large business delegation, is to be given a ceremonial reception at the presidential palace today followed by talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'Coming after a gap of more than a decade, the visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral, political and economic relations, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
Italian marines Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre were arrested in India in February 2012.
Both were suspected of accidentally shooting dead two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala during anti-piracy duties on an Italian tanker passing through the Indian Ocean.
They were later released on bail and allowed to return to Italy but their arrest and subsequent legal action in India led to a near freeze of diplomatic relations.
Italy maintained the incident took place in international waters and that India was acting outside its jurisdiction.
The two countries are currently fighting a legal battle on the issue at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas at The Hague.
The stand-off affected he talks for a free trade pact between the European Union and India.
Gentiloni's trip is expected to bring fresh momentum to bilateral relations including trade and investment.
Indo-Italian ties got a breather when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited the Vatican in September last year for the canonisation of Mother Teresa.
Italy is among India's five largest trading partners in the European Union with bilateral trade at $8.79bn in 2016-17.
India's exports to Italy total $4.90bn and imports $3.89bn, resulting in a trade balance of $1bn in favour of India.
In the first four months of fiscal year 2017-18, bilateral trade has reached $3.22bn.
Italy is the 13th largest investor in India with cumulative investments worth $2.41bn from April 2000 to June 2017.
The top five sectors in India that attract Italian investments are automotive industry, trading, service sector, industrial machinery and food processing industry.
There are over 600 Italian companies active in India covering various sectors such as fashion, garments, textile and textile machinery, automotive, automotive components industry, infrastructure, chemicals, energy, confectionery and insurance.
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