Foreign minister Luigi Di Maio has inaugurated Italy's new consulate in India's 'Silicon Valley' - the southern city of Bangalore - a move which he said will bolster bilateral business, scientific and technology ties.
"In Bangalore I inaugurated the premises housing Italy's new consulate. Support for our compatriots and over 150 Italian companies operating here," Di Maio tweeted on Thursday.
"We are consolidating relations between our countries' research 'ecosystems'," the tweet added.
The consulate in Bangalore will strengthen Italy's presence in four Indian states that are home to over 200 million people, the foreign ministry tweeted with a photo of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Di Maio held talks in Bangalore with the surrounding Indian state of Karnataka's chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, the foreign ministry tweeted.
"Opening of Italy's Consulate General in Bangalore attests to the importance of Karnataka's economic and technological growth, and strengthens Italy-India commercial, scientific and cultural relations," read the tweet.
After the talks with Bommai, Di Maio met Navakant Bhatt, Dean of the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.
"For more than 20 years, Indian Institute of Science has forged important scientific collaboration with the Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste research centre, co-funded by Italy's foreign ministry," the ministry tweeted.
Di Maio is on a visit to India through Friday that aims to re-launch Italy's wide-ranging partnership with the world's largest democracy, with a special focus on science, trade, industry and energy.
It is the first visit by an Italian foreign minister to India since 2012.
