The situation in Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific figured prominently in talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his visiting Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio on Friday even as the two sides agreed to explore partnerships in areas like gas transportation, green hydrogen, biofuels and energy storage.
The two foreign ministers noted the potential for a closer India-Italy industrial collaboration in the defence sector and vowed to work closely in countering common challenges of terrorism, violent extremism and cybercrimes.
Di Maio arrived in India on Wednesday on a three-day visit against the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
“On Ukraine, the two ministers expressed their concern on the ongoing humanitarian crisis and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities,” a joint press statement on the Jaishankar-Di Maio talks said.
“They also underlined the…