AFTER 10 YEAR GAP, AN ITALIAN PM TO VISIT INDIA

NEWDELHI: An Italian Prime Minister is set to arrive in India on Sunday after a gap of ten years — nearly four of which saw a strain in India-Italy ties over two Italian marines killing Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012.

“The visit is aimed at strengthening the bilateral political and economic relations between the two countries,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said about Italian Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni’s visit to India.

Gentiloni will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the capital on Monday.

Diplomatic ties took a hit after two Italian marines, Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone were arrested on charges of killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012.

Italy claimed the ship they were on when they committed the crime, Enrica Lexie, was in international waters and that only the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) should apply, questioning the Indian government’s jurisdiction over the case. Rome also said the marines, who were on official duty, enjoyed diplomatic impunity. India argued against all these positions.

Prime Minister Gentiloni will be accompanied by his wife and a 15-member Italian CEOs delegation. Italy is India’s 5th largest trading partner in the EU with a bilateral trade of $8.79 billion in 2016-17, as per official figures.