Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with Minister of Defence of Italy Mr Guido Crosetto at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi on April 30, 2026. Both Ministers reiterated that the India-Italy Strategic Partnership is based on shared values of peace, stability, freedom, and mutual respect.
In a post on X, Raksha Mantri stated that he and his Italian counterpart discussed a wide range of regional and global issues including the current situation in West Asia. The two Ministers also discussed the avenues to further develop mutually beneficial defence industrial cooperation under Aatmanirbhar Bharat programme and Italy’s defence cooperation initiative.
A Bilateral Military Cooperation Plan for 2026-27 was exchanged during the meeting, charting the course for military engagements between the Defence Forces of both countries. Convergence between both the ancient sea faring nations on various key maritime issues was also highlighted including Information Exchange through Information Fusion Center-Indian Ocean Region, Gurugram.
Prior to the meeting, the Italian Defence Minister laid a wreath at the National War Memorial, and paid homage to the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation. The visiting dignitary also inspected the Tri-service Guard of Honour at Manekshaw Centre.