Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will make an official visit to South Korea from the 17th to the 19th of this month at the invitation of President Lee Jae-myung, the Blue House announced. Prime Minister Meloni is the first European leader to visit South Korea since the new government was inaugurated and the first foreign guest to be received at the Blue House since its return. This is the first bilateral visit by an Italian Prime Minister in 19 years.
President Lee and Prime Minister Meloni are scheduled to hold a summit and official luncheon on the 19th. During the summit, they plan to discuss major areas of cooperation and international issues with Italy, which is our fourth-largest trading partner in the EU and a country visited by about one million South Koreans annually.
Specifically, they will broadly discuss various fields such as trade and investment, advanced industries and scientific and technological cooperation in AI, space, defense, and semiconductors, as well as cooperation in education, culture, and human exchanges. Additionally, President Lee will request special attention to the safety of the athletes and the public during the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, to be held next month.
The Blue House stated that Prime Minister Meloni’s visit will serve as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in various fields with Italy, a political, economic, and military powerhouse in Europe and a cradle of culture and art. It is also expected to further solidify the ‘strategic partnership’ established between the two countries in 2018.