New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with the visiting Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Friday and discussed several issues including the participation of Italian companies in Make-in-India campaign and concern on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

"A warm and productive meeting with FM Luigi Di Maio of Italy. Noted our expanding cooperation in cyber security, S&T and space sectors. Agreed that the increasing interest of Italian companies in Make-in-India and transfer of technology will further advance our bilateral relationship," Jaishankar tweeted.

Jaishankar held bilateral talks with visiting Di Maio where they reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations including the progress in implementation of the 2020-2024 Action Plan adopted at the Virtual Summit in November 2020.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), they welcomed the growing bilateral trade and investment linkages and agreed to expand them in new areas of common interest.

The two ministers also discussed the implementation of the India-Italy Strategic Partnership on Energy Transition announced last year during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Italy and agreed to explore partnerships in areas such as gas transportation, green hydrogen, biofuels and energy storage.

In addition, they agreed to jointly organize an India Italy Tech Summit on Energy Transition and Circular Economy, to be held in Delhi on November 17, 2022.

The two leaders noted the potential for closer industrial collaboration, including in the field of defence. They reiterated their commitment to closely work in countering common challenges related to terrorism, violent extremism and cybercrime.

In the context of recent geopolitical developments, they also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interests including Ukraine, Afghanistan and Indo-Pacific and cooperation in the multilateral forum including the G-20.

On the Ukraine issue, the two Ministers expressed their concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. They also underlined the importance to safeguard the international order based on the UN Charter, with special regard to the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.

During the visit, Di Maio also had a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and co-chaired a business round-table which saw the participation of top business leaders, particularly in the energy, defence, sustainable mobility, and infrastructure sectors.

During his visit, the Minister travelled to Bengaluru on Thursday where he met Chief Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai and inaugurated the premises of the new Consulate General of the Italian Republic.

Minister Di Maio also visited the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Indian Institute of Science along with their Italian counterparts, the Italian Space Agency and Elettra Sinctrotrone Trieste, with which scientific partnerships and joint projects are being developed.