India, Italy may finalize migration and mobility agreement

The intention of the agreement is to ensure transparent and “clean” migration to reduce the exploitation of migrants by brokers and agents. This attention has probably been inspired by reports of Indian workers trapped in exploitative conditions in Italy’s agricultural sector. The agreement is also expected to help in the fight against illegal migration.

Italy is home to around 200,000 Indians – the largest Indian diaspora in Europe after Britain – mostly working in the agriculture and dairy sectors.

Noting that the talks are progressing well, the officials expect the agreement to be signed later this year. According to the persons cited above, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is expected to visit Italy in November, when he may sign the agreement.

Queries to the foreign ministries of India and Italy were not answered at press time.

However, the persons cited above also said that disagreement over the sharing of personal data of migrants remains a sticking point in the talks.

The absence of data privacy regulations in India has also made collaboration difficult. Finding an agreement on personal data is likely to be crucial to the fulfillment of the Migration and Mobility Agreement. For the deal to work, New Delhi and Rome will have to exchange information on migrant workers.

Furthermore, combating illegal migration, which is a major focus of this agreement, is likely to be difficult without a mechanism for sharing migrant data.

The agreement is likely to be limited, according to people with knowledge of the talks, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government looking to tighten immigration procedures.

Despite the difficulties, the successful conclusion of this deal may help both parties to restart their relationship. Relations between India and Italy have been strained since 2012, when two Italian marines shot at Indian fishermen inside India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The incident turned into a diplomatic crisis between New Delhi and Rome as the two sides clashed over how and where the two Italian marines would be prosecuted. Ultimately, the case was referred to an international arbitration court, which ruled that Italy would prosecute both accused. However, the court also ordered Rome to pay an amount as compensation to New Delhi.

While bilateral relations suffered due to the Marines case, Italian officials have publicly talked about a “reboot” in their ties with New Delhi. Mint had earlier reported that the two sides are also expected to sign a defense agreement in May this year. According to people familiar with the proposed talks, the migration and mobility agreement is another step towards getting India-Italy ties back on track.