Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday held talks with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte and discussed a range of issues, including ways to boost cooperation in key areas such as trade and investment.

"A warm welcome to the Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Giuseppe Conte in India. I look forward to meeting him and to participate together at the Tech Summit later today," Modi tweeted in English and Italian.

The highlight of the day-long visit is the Italian prime minister's participation at the 24th edition of the India-Italy Technology Summit, which is being organised by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The summit will focus on a number of areas, including healthcare, aerospace, education, clean technology, renewable energy and information and communication technology.

The bilateral trade between the countries increased to USD 10.5 billion in 2017-18 from USD 8.8 billion in the previous fiscal.

Italy is India's fifth largest trading partner in the European Union and the annual trade turnover between the two countries was USD 10.4 billion in 2017-18. Over 600 Italian companies are operating in India.

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