Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced that India and Italy have elevated their ties to a 'Special Strategic Partnership' as New Delhi and Rome gave a major push to their multifaceted partnership connecting the Mediterranean with the Indo-Pacific region.The announcement came during a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. The two leaders also agreed to hold annual meetings, including on the sidelines of multilateral events, along with regular ministerial and institutional-level engagements.To expand defence partnership, the two sides concluded a Joint Declaration of Intent and an Industrial Roadmap for collaboration in the co-design, co-development and co-production of defence products. Both leaders also agreed to launch a Dialogue on Maritime Security aimed at enhancing maritime cooperation, coordination and the exchange of information and best practices in the maritime domain.At the joint press conference, Meloni said the elevation of ties between India and Italy to a 'Special Strategic Partnership' followed a series of high-level engagements over the past three years, including the launch of a strategic partnership in New Delhi in 2023 and the signing of the Joint Strategic Action Plan for 2025-2029 during the G20 Summit in Brazil last year.Meloni said Italy wants to further strengthen trade ties with India and aims to increase bilateral trade to 22 billion euros by 2029 from the current 14 billion euros. She also stressed the importance of the proposed India-EU Free Trade Agreement in achieving this target. "Well, we certainly want to further strengthen our trade ties. Bilateral trade stands at 14 billion euros today and we hope to take it to 22 billion euros by 2029. This is a very ambitious goal, which can also be achieved by leveraging the opportunities arising from the free trade agreement between the European Union and India."Modi thanked Meloni for Italy's support in concluding the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. "Together, we will work towards its earliest implementation so that the business community can fully benefit from it," Modi said.He added that India and Italy share "immense potential for cooperation in areas such as AI, quantum technology, space and civil nuclear energy".Modi also announced that an India-Italy Innovation Centre will be established to connect startups, research centres and industries from both countries. The two PMs further decided to establish a foreign minister-level mechanism to regularly review the Joint Strategic Action Plan.Reiterating their strong commitment to combating terrorism, both leaders agreed to continue cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels. They also expressed satisfaction over the implementation of the Joint Initiative to Counter Financing of Terrorism adopted in November 2025. "Our joint initiative against terror financing has set a strong example for the world. India and Italy have sent a clear message that responsible democracies do not merely condemn terrorism, but also take concrete steps to dismantle its financial networks," Modi said.He added that he and Meloni have remained in constant touch regarding Ukraine, West Asia and other global tensions, while reiterating that India's position remains clear that all issues should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.The two leaders also agreed to celebrate 2027 as the 'Year of Culture and Tourism between India and Italy'. They expressed a keen desire to build connectivity infrastructure through concrete projects and reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. They also discussed the possibility of strengthening cooperation to combat irregular migration, labour exploitation and human trafficking to ensure safe and legal migration.