Sonowal invites Italy to collaborate with upcoming maritime heritage museum

New Delhi: Union Shipping, Ports and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday asked Italian museums to collaborate with India for the upcoming National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) in Gujarat's Lothal.

Speaking during a seminar on blue economy and space held on the sidelines of 93-year-old Italian ship Amerigo Vespucci's call on Mumbai port, Sonowal said India is building the largest museum devoted to maritime heritage at Lothal, a site of the Indus Valley civilisation.

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The Union Cabinet had recently given the nod for the NMHC, which is estimated to cost over Rs 3,500 crore, as per some reports.

Sonowal said as early as 4,000 BC, Indian ships went to neighbouring countries with produce such as spices, textiles, and arts and crafts.

Indian ships had a reputation of being sturdy and were manned by expert seamen, he said.

The Union minister said that Italian travellers including the 13th century Venetian merchant Marco Polo have documented Indian ships to be highly sophisticated, much larger, durable and versatile than other vessels.

The dockyard at Lothal is over 5,000 years old and given its importance, India is building the NMHC there, Sonowal said.

"I would invite globally renowned Italian museums to collaborate in our endeavour," he said.

The minister called India and Italy as strategic partners, and also affirmed his commitment to take forward the agenda set out by prime ministers of both the countries recently.

India and Italy are ancient civilisations with a rich cultural heritage, the minister said, adding that Italian cities were important trading posts on the ancient spice route.

The country's scientific and economic heritage spans millennia and as far back as the Rigveda period, that is between 3,300 to 1,900 BC, "Indian civilisation laid the foundation for advancement in diverse scientific domain", he said.

Without elaborating, he also told reporters that India and Italy held "informal" talks on Saturday.

He said on the upcoming India-Middle East-Europe-Economic Corridor, Italy has made some wish and added that India will take the necessary steps on this aspect and even called it as the country's responsibility.

Both India and Italy are strong maritime nations having advanced space programmes, Sonowal said, stressing that ecology and economic aspirations have to go hand in hand.

"From the enormousness of the ocean to the infinite vastness of space, the potential and benefit of India-Italy partnership is immense," he said.

Italian Navy's Vice Admiral Antonio Natale , who was also present at the occasion, told reporters that the Vespucci, which is used as a training ship, is like a 'floating embassy' because of the way she takes forward the country's diplomacy.

"The stop here in Mumbai is to reinforce the friendship and the collaboration with the Indian Navy," he said, adding that the relations between the two countries are good and prepared to be better.

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