Italy to work with Maharashtra on ancient temple restoration project, says Italian ambassador Vincenzo De Luca

MUMBAI: Ending his three-day tour to Mumbai, Italian ambassador to India Vincenzo De Luca on Wednesday said that a top conservation institute in Italy would soon work with the Maharashtra government on a pilot project for protection and restoration of ancient temples.
De Luca had said post the pandemic, there would be a new era of possibilities and Mumbai would be the hub of a new Asia. Green economy, energy transition and waste to energy were the key focus areas of his visit.
During this three-day visit, De Luca met chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and environment minister Aaditya Thackeray. De Luca also called on Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
“I must say that the results of this visit have been beyond any expectation. The message is clear, "India needs more Italy and Italy needs more India". Maharashtra will be a very important platform in this framework. Maharashtra is the most advanced State in India in the field of manufacture and industrial production and Italy is the second biggest country in Europe for manufacturing. It seems natural to me that a closer partnership must be built between us,” De Luca said.
About his meeting with the Thackerays, De Luca said, “We discussed the already strong existing presence of Italian enterprises in the state especially in Mumbai and Pune. We also committed to an even stronger presence of Italian enterprises and investments in the state, especially in the field of automotive, textile machineries, food processing and medical technologies. We also agreed on promoting joint programmes and partnerships on energy transition, waste for energy and cultural exchanges on heritage conservation and university exchange. We will ask our best conservation institute in Italy to work together with the Maharashtra government on a pilot project related to protection and restoration of ancient temples.”
De Luca said that he was keen on pushing for the twinning of Mumbai with major Italian cities. “We are also interested in creating a framework for future collaboration between Italian cities and Mumbai. I was impressed by how dynamic and future oriented this city is,” De Luca said.
During his visit, De Luca also met top industrialists including Ratan Tata and Anand Mahindra.
“I was delighted to partake in a discussion with CM Uddhav Thackeray ji, Hon. Ambassador of Italy- Vincenzo de Luca ji, Alessandro De Masi- CG of Italy & Luigi Cascone ji- Dy CG Italy, sharing insights on strengthening bilateral ties between Maharashtra and Italy,” Aaditya tweeted after his meeting on Tuesday.
De Luca said that Italy was looking to work on waste to energy projects in Mumbai with the BMC.