Seoul: Senior officials from South Korea and Italy convened in Seoul to explore avenues for expanding bilateral cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, and advanced industries, as reported by Seoul officials.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Maria Tripodi, Italy's vice foreign minister, engaged in separate discussions with South Korea's Vice Trade Minister Park Jung-sung and Vice Climate Minister Lee Ho-hyeon. These discussions were aimed at deepening cooperation as a follow-up measure to the leaders' summit between the two countries held last month.
The meetings took place a day after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reached an agreement to strengthen industrial cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, aerospace, semiconductors, and critical minerals during their bilateral summit in Seoul. Park and Tripodi discussed strategies to enhance cooperation in advanced industries, emphasizing the need to develop a sustainable business platform and improve the corporate investment environment.
Additionally, the two countries agreed to collaborate on strengthening their critical mineral supply chains by entering markets in Africa and other regions together, as noted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. The ministry also highlighted Park's call for a resolution to issues related to Italy's new tax credit scheme, with assurances from Italy that Korea would not be excluded from potential benefits.
In a separate meeting, South Korea's vice climate minister and Maria Tripodi discussed collaborations to facilitate the transition to eco-friendly energy and to enhance energy security, as stated by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.