PM Modi meets Italian President Sergio Mattarella; AI, critical minerals, space discussed

During meetings in Rome on May 20, 2026, the President of Italy and the Prime Minister of India discussed cooperation in artificial intelligence, critical mi...

What Happened

During meetings in Rome on May 20, 2026, the President of Italy and the Prime Minister of India discussed cooperation in artificial intelligence, critical minerals, space exploration, and nuclear energy.
The External Affairs Ministry confirmed that discussions also covered trade, technology, innovation, clean energy, and culture, as well as regional and international developments of mutual interest.
An MoU on critical minerals was signed to enable recovery of rare materials from electronic waste and mine tailings — a novel circular economy approach to mineral security.
Italy signed a Letter of Intent granting Indian researchers direct access to the Elettra Sincrotrone facility in Trieste — a major European synchrotron radiation research facility — for scientific collaboration.
INNOVIT India, a dedicated innovation hub for AI, quantum computing, fintech, and semiconductors, was announced to accelerate India-Italy startup and technology linkages.
Both leaders also visited the Colosseum and held a private dinner to reinforce people-to-people and cultural dimensions of the partnership.

Static Topic Bridges

Critical Minerals — Strategic Importance and India's Policy

Critical minerals are raw materials essential to modern technology, clean energy, and defence sectors — including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, rare earth elements (REEs), and manganese. Their supply chains are highly concentrated, with China dominating processing for most categories, creating strategic vulnerabilities for importing nations.

India's Ministry of Mines identified 30 critical minerals in 2023 (via a government committee); 24 are listed under Part D of Schedule I of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act).
The National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) was announced in Union Budget 2024-25 (July 23, 2024), with an outlay of ₹34,300 crore over seven years (FY2024-25 to FY2030-31).
NCMM targets: 1,200 domestic exploration projects, acquisition of 50 mining assets overseas by Indian companies, processing self-sufficiency in at least 5 critical minerals, and a national stockpile of at least 5 critical minerals.
Customs duties on most critical minerals were eliminated in Union Budget 2024-25 to encourage processing industry investment.
Geological Survey of India (GSI) is the nodal agency for exploration under NCMM.

Connection to this news: The India-Italy MoU on critical minerals recovery from e-waste and mine tailings directly supports NCMM's circular economy objectives, providing international technology partnerships for sustainable domestic mineral supply chains.

India's Space Policy and International Cooperation

India's space programme is governed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the newly established IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center, established 2020) which regulates private sector participation. The Indian Space Policy 2023 further opened space activities to private entities and foreign investment.

Indian Space Policy 2023: approved by the Union Cabinet on April 6, 2023; delineates roles of ISRO (R&D and national missions), IN-SPACe (authorization and promotion), and NewSpace India Limited or NSIL (commercial operations).
India signed the Artemis Accords in 2023, joining a US-led framework for civil space exploration norms.
India-Italy space cooperation builds on a long relationship: Italian Space Agency (ASI) and ISRO have cooperated since the 1990s, including on satellite missions.
The Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste access mentioned in the summit outcomes is relevant for material science research critical to space, defence, and semiconductor applications.
Chandrayaan-3 (August 23, 2023) and Aditya-L1 (launched September 2, 2023) have enhanced India's credibility as a space partner.

Connection to this news: India-Italy cooperation in space reflects India's broader strategy of bilateral space agreements as supplements to multilateral frameworks, leveraging Europe's advanced research infrastructure for Indian scientific capacity building.

Artificial Intelligence — India's Policy and Governance

Artificial intelligence is a dual-use technology with implications for national security, economic productivity, healthcare, and democratic governance. India has developed an emerging AI governance framework while seeking to become a global AI hub.

IndiaAI Mission: approved in March 2024 with an outlay of ₹10,371.92 crore over five years; aims to build sovereign AI compute infrastructure, datasets, and application development.
India is developing a national AI policy framework; the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the nodal ministry.
Italy, under its G7 presidency in 2024, spearheaded the Hiroshima AI Process outcomes and championed the "Rome Call for AI Ethics" (2020) — a Vatican-initiated framework signed by tech majors.
The INNOVIT India hub announced at the summit will focus on AI, quantum computing, fintech, and semiconductors.
Both India and Italy are members of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI).

Connection to this news: The AI cooperation dimension of the India-Italy summit links two countries that are both investing in domestic AI capacity while navigating the global AI governance debate, creating scope for alignment on AI safety, ethics, and standards.

Nuclear Energy Cooperation and India's Civil Nuclear Framework

Nuclear energy cooperation between India and foreign partners operates within the framework established by the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement (123 Agreement, 2008), which ended India's nuclear isolation and allowed civilian nuclear trade. India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but has entered bilateral nuclear cooperation agreements (NCAs) with several countries.

India has civil nuclear agreements with: USA (2008), Russia (long-standing), France, UK, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, Kazakhstan, and Argentina, among others.
India's nuclear power capacity is managed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and is expanding through Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) and Light Water Reactors (LWR).
India aims for 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047 as part of its net-zero and energy security goals.
Italy has no domestic nuclear power programme (decommissioned after 1987 referendum) but has significant nuclear technology research and decommissioning expertise.
India amended the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 parameters remain a point of negotiation with foreign vendors.

Connection to this news: The discussion of nuclear energy at the India-Italy summit reflects India's growing appetite for civil nuclear partnerships to meet its clean energy targets, though a formal nuclear cooperation agreement would require further legal steps.

Key Facts & Data

India's 30 critical minerals list: identified in 2023 by Ministry of Mines committee
MMDR Act: Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (amended multiple times)
National Critical Mineral Mission outlay: ₹34,300 crore over 7 years (FY2024-25 to FY2030-31)
IN-SPACe established: 2020 (operationalized post Indian Space Policy 2023)
Indian Space Policy 2023: approved April 6, 2023
Chandrayaan-3 soft landing: August 23, 2023
Artemis Accords signed by India: 2023
IndiaAI Mission approved: March 2024; outlay ₹10,371.92 crore over 5 years
India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement (123 Agreement): 2008
Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act: 2010
Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste: major European synchrotron radiation research facility, Italy
INNOVIT India: new India-Italy innovation hub for AI, quantum, fintech, semiconductors