India & Italy Explore Agricultural Cooperation

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) India and Italy on Wednesday explored potential areas to advance cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors.

Agriculture Secretary Devesh Chaturvedi on Wednesday met with Ambassador Antonio Bartoli of Italy here.

"The discussions focused on exploring potential areas of cooperation in the agriculture sector between India and Italy," an official statement said.

Chaturvedi underscored the strong and friendly relations between India and Italy. He highlighted the significant potential for collaboration in areas of mutual interest such as trade, investment and technology in the agriculture and allied sectors.

He suggested the cooperation could be further strengthened by leveraging the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two nations, particularly through regular Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings.

He also pointed out opportunities for Italian companies to invest including in India's food parks.

"Both sides recognized the importance of advancing cooperation across several areas..."

Those include technical and legal collaboration on plant variety protection and the seeds sector; agricultural research and education; protection of Geographical Indications; organic and natural farming; the application of innovative technologies in precision agriculture; skill development for Indian migrant workers; and fostering industry interaction.

The meeting was also attended by representatives from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of External Affairs, and senior officials from various divisions of the Ministry of Agriculture.