Brescia [Italy], June 5 (ANI): Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday pointed out that the bilateral trade between India and Italy is very low, as he suggested that the trade relationship has 'miles to go'.

Speaking at the India-Italy Plenary Session of the Business Forum alongside Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Antonio Tajani, Minister Piyush Goyal asked the businesses present at the event whether the current trade volume 'meets even a minuscule portion of the huge potential between Italy and India.'

'We have miles to go,' Piyush Goyal said, painting a hopeful picture that the trade between India and Italy will grow. Piyush Goyal is on a two-day visit to Italy.

'We realise that the bilateral trade between our two nations is so low, and is suboptimal. We have a lot of work to do, whether it is trade, whether it is investments, whether it is technology, whether it is tourism,' Goyal said.

The bilateral trade between India and Italy registered at Euro 14.34 billion in 2023. India's exports to Italy reached Euro 9.16 billion, a decrease of 8.86% compared to the previous year, 2022. During 2023, India's imports from Italy were Euro 5.18 billion, an increase of 7.69 per cent compared to the year 2022.

The trade balance remains in India's favour, with Euro 3.98 billion. It has been in India's favour since 1988.

He added that the tremendous potential between the two countries can be gauged from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden visit to Italy after becoming prime minister.

In his address, Minister Goyal said there is a huge opportunity for tourism in India. In the same breath, he invited people of Italy to come to India as tourists.

He said Italy is quite a popular destination for Indian tourists, and each time an Indian movie features a song shot in an exotic Italian location, tourism from India to Italy increases significantly.

'I'm a greedy person. I would also like to see tourism come from Italy to India. Therefore, I would like to invite the world of cinema to come to India and explore some exotic locations. We have rain in some parts or other of India every season, 12 months a year. You can have the sun, you can have beautiful beaches, historical sites, palaces, temples, a lot of history, a lot of art, a lot of culture, tonnes of tradition, all of that across India, and I would like to invite all of you to India to explore the majesty and the glory,' he doubled on his tourism promotion.

He said the impending India-EU FTA is making rapid progress.

'Our leaders, President Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have tasked us to finalise the deal before the end of this year. I can assure you that we are making rapid progress; we had discussions as recently as two days ago in Paris, where we engaged on finding the pathways for taking forward (the negotiations),' Goyal added.

Once finalised, this FTA would be one of the most significant for India, as the EU is its second-largest trading partner after the US.

This commitment to finance FTA by the end of 2025 builds on the strategic direction given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during the landmark visit of the EU College of Commissioners to New Delhi in February 2025.

After a nine-year lull, India and the EU re-launched negotiations for the India-EU Free Trade Agreement in 2022. The talks had reportedly stopped in 2013. (ANI)