Ambassador Vincenzo de Luca's mandate in India came to an end and he left the country yesterday. In the diplomatic service since 1989, de Luca has lived in Sudan, Tunisia, France and China, collaborated with Eni and Enel, and worked on the Milan Expo, as well as the economic, scientific and cultural promotion of Italy at the Farnesina. India was de Luca's last stop abroad, for whom he will retire in a few months.
Speaking to ANSA, the ambassador took stock of more than four years in India: demanding, exciting, and full of satisfaction. "I had the privilege of experiencing an extraordinary improvement in relations between Italy and India and of participating in the new impulse given by the elevation of bilateral relations to strategic partnership, decided in March 2023, at the meeting in Delhi between the President of the Conisglio Meloni and Prime Minister Modi".
"The intensity of the relationship between Italy and India is expressing itself through a multilateral collaboration that has seen continuity and points of convergence between the Italian G7 Presidency and the Indian G20 Presidency, up to the landing of the themes that emerged from the Indian G20, (such as the role of Africa and the Global South in general) on the table of the G7 that has just concluded in Puglia.
The strategic partnership has significantly expanded the fields of cooperation: 'To the sectors of energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and creative industry, we have added the sensitive sectors of defence, aerospace, and cybersecurity. In each of these fields, we have been able to develop important cooperation agreements in recent months, some of which are already in the operational phase'.
The impact on economic exchanges is more than satisfactory: in 2023, Italian exports to India reached an all-time high of 5.2 billion euros. According to the ambassador, beyond the figures, "the most significant aspect of our export is the all-Italian ability to offer not only products, but also our know-how, which is declined in advanced manufacturing, design, fashion, and food".
Among the results of which de Luca is most proud, the strengthening of the Italian presence in India, thanks also to the opening of the new Consulate General in Bangalore, the Indian capital of technological innovation, and the intense bilateral collaboration in culture. "We have endeavoured to combine historical studies with the present, promoting, on the one hand, the Italian tradition of Indology, a field in which we boast scholars of international relevance, and creating, on the other, innovative exchanges between contemporary protagonists of cinema and design".
Finally, satisfaction for two recent agreements to encourage exchanges in the field of culture and mobility: 'We will facilitate flows of both students and workers, enabling new immigration in the area of talent and white collar workers.
The last few weeks in India of Vincenzo de Luca and his wife Paola Ferri, who accompanied him on all his missions, have been an uninterrupted succession of greeting events by representatives of institutions, politicians, associations, and exponents of culture and art. "They surrounded us with a touching warmth and affection," admits the Ambassador. "The generosity, the hospitality, the ability of Indians to create human relationships of great intensity are the traits of the country that I love the most, in addition to the extraordinary plurality of cultures, languages, religions, modes of expression".
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