President Lee Holds Summit with PM Meloni: "South Korea and Italy Are Complementary Partners"

President Lee Jae-myung, who is on a state visit to Italy, met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and stated, "I hope we can build a South Korea that is helpful to Italy and an Italy that is helpful to South Korea."

During his opening remarks at the expanded luncheon meeting with Prime Minister Meloni on Friday, President Lee said, "There is much we can do to help each other," and expressed these sentiments.

President Lee first noted, "We have previously discussed the importance of a rules-based international order, and I hope we can work together to advance cooperation in areas such as free trade and multilateralism."

He continued by emphasizing, "It is necessary to establish a new framework for cooperation, which makes the development of our bilateral relationship even more meaningful. We are complementary partners, and we can create synergy through cooperation."

He added, "We have recently held detailed discussions regarding defense, satellites, space, and high-tech industries. Through this, I believe we can do things that will be of greater strength to one another."

He also mentioned, "The people of Italy and South Korea share similar sentiments and get along well with each other."

On this day, Prime Minister Meloni also offered her congratulations on South Korea's victory against the Czech Republic in their first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In response, President Lee replied, "It is a pity that we did not get to meet Italy in the World Cup finals."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.