Pesident Mattarella will visit Seoul on November 7-9esident
President of Italy to visit Seoul next month
President Sergio Mattarella of Italy will pay a state visit to the Republic of Korea in November and hold a summit meeting his Korean counterpart, President Yoon Suk-Yeol. This was disclosed by the Office of the President in Yongsan, Seoul on Ocober 27th.
Pesident Mattarella will visit Seoul on November 7-9esident at President Yoon's invitation.
During the summit, the two leaders are slated to discuss ways for the two countries to increase cooperation in various sectors, including the economy, space, science and technology, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges according to the announcement of the Presidential Office.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella (L) meets with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin at the presidential palace in Rome on Aug. 1, 2023.
Italy is known worldwide for its ancient Roman civilization, Renaissance art, food culture, and opera.
In addition to her well-known automotive, fashion, design, and food industries, Italy is home to a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals and aerospace, and plays a leading role on the international stage as a member of the G7, a key player in the European Union (EU), and will hold the G20 presidency in 2021.
Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1884, Korea and Italy have developed friendly and cooperative ties for more than 130 years.
The bilateral relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2018 with President Moon Jae-in's official visit to Italy, setting the stage for further high-level exchanges and cooperation in various fields.
Bilateral trade exceeded US$10 billion in 2018, and more than 1 million Korean tourists visited Italy annually before the pandemic.
Recently, there has also been great enthusiasm for Korean culture in Italy. The Korean Cultural Center in Rome, which opened in 2016, has been promoting various cultural exchange programs and, thanks to these efforts, interest in Korean movies and music, which has been boosted by the success of "Parasite," "Squid Game," and "BTS," has expanded to include interest in Korean language, Korean food, and Korean culture in general, including Hanji (Korean paper).
Korea will spare no effort to further develop the strong bilateral relations between Korea and Italy, and will do her utmost to protect the safety and promote the comfort of the Korean compatriots in Italy and Korean citizens visiting Italy, as well as to support the expansion of Korean businesses in Italy.