Training ship’s Mumbai stopover to deepen India-Italy ties

Mumbai, Nov 28 (PTI) Italian Navy’s training ship Amerigo Vespucci’s five-day stopover in India’s financial capital is aimed at strengthening ties between New Delhi and Rome across various fields, the organizers said on Thursday.

A host of events have been lined up during the Mumbai stopover of the 1930-made ship’s ongoing world tour, including the exposition “Villaggio Italia” which illustrates Italian excellence across domains, the organizers said.

The historical ship has anchored at the Indira Dock, and a multitude of events have been lined up to coincide with the historic ship’s call on Mumbai, including a painting competition, exhibition of lifestyle products, concert by an Italian air force band and film screenings.

Top Italian news agency ANSA has specially curated an evening of talks that will focus on success stories of Italians in India and Indians in Italy through the fusion of different cultures on November 29.

The event organized by ANSA will be inaugurated by Italian Ambassador to India, Antonio Bartoli, at the Villaggio, and will involve a dialogue involving diplomats, journalists, experts and opinion makers, a statement said.

The ANSA forum will focus on stories of development, cultural enrichment, entrepreneurship and social media in which different cultures have met and merged in a prolific fashion, it said.

The forum will be streamed live between 1500-1600 hrs IST on the channels of ANSA.it and Indian news agency PTI, and speakers will illustrate how Indians see Italy and talk about ongoing activities in training, fashion, the performing arts, cinema and social media.

The speakers will include PTI’s chief executive Vijay Joshi, director of the Asia Centre of SDA Bocconi, Alessandro Giuliani, actress and entrepreneur Giorgia Andreani, DJ Olly Esse, Youtuber Giulia Raffaello, as well as Bengaluru designer Kulsum Shadab, the winner of the sustainability prize of Milan Fashion Week, and Dhruv Kapoor, protagonist of a success story in fashion linked to the Marangoni Institute.

The next morning, a conference to attract investments into Italy organized by the country’s Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, who will be at Villaggio Italia in Mumbai, has been scheduled.

The conference will be followed by an event to explore future prospects in the maritime and the space sectors organized by the Defence, Navy and Air Force along with the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy which will have high-profile experts from institutions, agencies and industry analyzing scientific, technological and operational developments.

The “World Tour – Villaggio Italia” initiative, strongly supported by the Minister of Defence of the Italian Government, Guido Crosetto, and backed by 11 ministries, together with the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, combines the traditional training and naval diplomacy activities of the training ship with the promotion of Made in Italy excellence in the main ports covered by the campaign.



On Saturday evening, there will be a conference dedicated to the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, while Sunday will see Italian companies visiting the Vespucci as part of an event organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce, the organizers said.

The industry representatives’ visit will be followed by an event aimed at tour operators, travel agencies and wedding planners with a specific focus on promoting Italian options on luxury tourism and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events), the organizers said, adding that this event will be organized by the Ministry of Tourism and the National Tourism Agency (ENIT).

Italy’s Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation have organized an event on the evening of December 1 where designers and companies will deliberate on possible synergies between Italy and India in the world of luxury, the organizers said.

A performance by the Italian Air Force band on Sunday evening will be the final engagement and the ship will depart on the morning of Monday, December 2, they said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)