Italy-South Korea summit: Meloni and Lee strengthen cooperation

The last stage of the Prime Minister’s Asian mission ended in Seoul, South Korea Giorgia Meloni official visit which saw the meeting with President Lee Jae Myung. At the center of the summit, as emerges from the joint declaration published on the Palazzo Chigi website, the municipality desire to further strengthen collaboration ongoing, both at bilateral level and in multilateral fora, in order to proactively contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security and to address global challenges.

In the document, the two leaders expressed their willingness to cooperate in numerous areas. On the level of bilateral relations, leveraging shared values ​​and principles, the Corea el’Italia have expressed their desire to further strengthen theirs Strategic Dialogue as a primary platform for exchanging views and identifying synergies on key regional and global developments. With this in mind, it was decided to convene the next session of the Strategic Dialogue as soon as possible and to prepare a new Bilateral Action Plan for the years 2026-2030aimed at identifying the main objectives of bilateral cooperation.

Commitment to international stability

Meloni and Lee also reiterated their commitment to a Peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific and shared a common vision to work closely together to promote stability in the region. In the area of ​​international cooperation, the two leaders also reaffirmed their support for the comprehensive denuclearization and lasting peace and stability in the Korean Peninsulawhile expressing the willingness to collaborate closely in multilateral fora, including the G20and to cooperate in strengthening the partnership between Korea and G7.

Economic cooperation, trade and key sectors

Ample space was dedicated to the themes ofeconomytrade and investment. Aware of the challenges faced by today’s economy and the importance of advanced manufacturing and of cutting-edge technologiesthe two leaders reaffirmed their desire to further strengthen the partnership in these sectors. In this context they praised the results of the Korea-Italy Business Forumjointly organized in Seoul on 5 September 2025, focusing on four key areas: advanced industries (including artificial intelligence and industrial automation), energy transition and circular economy, infrastructure and transport (including aerospace and automotive) and bio-industry.

Based on the positive outcomes of the Forum, Meloni and Lee expressed their intention to further strengthen and expand the bilateral cooperation and to increase the commercial exchanges they investments in both countries and in third markets, enhancing the strengths and complementarities of the two economies. The importance of strengthening industrial cooperation in key areas such asartificial intelligencel’aerospacei semiconductors and the critical raw materialsas well as promoting partnerships between public institutions and private companies. The two leaders then highlighted their desire to enhance cooperation on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding on Industrial Cooperation, sharing a common vision to expand private sector cooperation in the field of semiconductors through the conclusion of a dedicated Memorandum of Understanding. It was therefore agreed to intensify joint efforts to develop supply chains of resilient and reliable critical raw materials, including in the framework of multilateral initiatives such as the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), currently chaired by Korea.

Science, technology and higher education

Concerning science, technology and higher education, with the aspiration to jointly contribute to the advancement of research and innovation and the development of the two Nations, Meloni and Lee expressed their intention to further promote joint research projectsacademic and researcher exchanges and cooperation between the respective scientific institutions. The two leaders placed great value on the successful launch of eight joint research projects in future-oriented fields, including quantum physics and science, advanced materials and nanotechnology, environmental science and energy transition, artificial intelligence applied to cultural heritageadvanced biotechnology and aerospace, underlining the need to further expand bilateral cooperation. The desire to promote collaboration between universities and higher education institutions through specific agreements and joint programs was also reiterated, with the aim of encouraging student mobilityprofessors, researchers and experts.

Culture, tourism and population safety

The last chapter of the joint statement is dedicated to culture, tourism and exchanges between peoples. In the wake of the momentum generated by theYear of cultural exchanges Korea-Italy 2024-25the two leaders expressed a positive assessment of the growing dynamism of exchanges between peoples, underlining the importance of deepening cultural cooperation through new partnerships in the sectors of cinema, museums, performing arts, architecture and tourism, as well as strengthening the protection of cultural heritage also within the framework of UNESCO. The conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding as a step towards further strengthening cooperation in the fields of cultural heritage and landscape was welcomed and a common vision shared on strengthening cooperation between audiovisual industries of the two countries. Finally, Meloni and Lee expressed a common vision aimed at promoting cooperation in sports sectoralso in view of major international events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milan-Cortina 2026also hoping that the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the sector of Civil Protection may lead to an expansion of shared efforts to protect the lives and safety of the populations of the two countries in various emergency and disaster situations.