New Delhi: India and Italy on February 3 signed a long-term Defence co-operation agreement with that Italian Defence Minister Antonio Martino calling for upgrading bilateral military ties.

The agreement signed by Defence Minister George Fernandes and his Italian counterpart seeks to broadbase the scope and form of the Indo-Italian Defence ties, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.

Saying that the new agreement had "political significance" attached to it, the spokesman said the two countries had earlier signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) on Defence supplies in 1994 and the new agreement was to give further impetus to the MoU.

The agreement was signed after a 45-minute meeting between Fernandes and Martino. The Italian minister is on a four-day visit to India to attend the Aero-India Air Show at Bangalore.

Italy is one of the biggest supplier to India of snow warfare equipment, specially snow mobiles, climbing gear and high altitude special clothing.

PTI