Italian Prime Minister Meloni to Visit Korea on the 17th... Summit with President Lee Scheduled for the 19th

First European Leader to Visit at Lee's Invitation
First Visit by an Italian Prime Minister in 19 Years

Yonhap News Agency

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will visit South Korea for three days starting from January 17.

The Office of the President announced on January 9 that Prime Minister Meloni will make an official visit to South Korea at the invitation of President Lee Jaemyung. Prime Minister Meloni will be the first European leader to visit since the inauguration of the Lee administration, and the first foreign guest to be received at the Blue House since its reopening. This marks the first visit by an Italian prime minister to South Korea in 19 years.

The two leaders are scheduled to hold a summit and an official luncheon on January 19. During the summit, they will discuss cooperation between South Korea and Italy in areas such as trade and investment, advanced industries and science and technology-including artificial intelligence (AI), space, defense, and semiconductors-as well as educational and cultural cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

In addition, President Lee plans to request special attention to the safety of the South Korean delegation and citizens at the upcoming Milan Winter Olympics in Italy next month, so that South Korean athletes can perform at their best.

The Office of the President stated, "Prime Minister Meloni's visit will serve as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation with Italy, a major political, economic, and military power in Europe and a cradle of culture and the arts," and added, "We also expect the 'strategic partnership' established between the two countries in 2018 to become even stronger."