President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to Italy, held a summit meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on the 11th (local time) and upgraded Korea-Italy relations to a “special strategic partnership.” Based on the two countries’ shared understanding of the need for Africa’s development, they also agreed to sign a “Korea-Italy Development Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).” As the government focuses on the “Global South” to diversify global supply chains amid the risk of war in the Middle East, it has established a framework for cooperation with Italy, a key member of both the G7 and the European Union (EU).

At the summit with the EU on the 10th (local time), President Lee strongly requested favorable consideration for Korea, a free trade agreement (FTA) partner and strategic partner, in order to secure a steel tariff-rate quota (TRQ), the presidential office said.

● Lee: “Joint support for Africa’s economic growth”

In a joint press announcement following his summit with President Mattarella in Rome on the 11th, President Lee stated, “On the basis of accumulated trust and ties and the values shared by our two countries, we will open a new chapter of cooperation toward joint prosperity,” and announced that they had agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a “special strategic partnership.” He went on to say, “The Korea-Italy Development Cooperation MOU will jointly support the economic growth of Africa and the Indo-Pacific region and further consolidate the strategic partnership between our two countries,” adding, “We will work together on energy security and the stabilization of supply chains.” Africa, which holds about 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, is drawing attention as a supplier of core minerals for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as cobalt, manganese, chromium, and platinum group metals.

The two countries also agreed to sign an “MOU on SME Cooperation,” an “MOU on Social and Solidarity Economy Cooperation,” an “MOU on Cooperation in Advanced Science, Technology and ICT,” and a “Film Co-production Agreement,” and plan to adopt the “2026–2030 Korea-Italy Strategic Action Plan” to review these arrangements. On the 12th, a business roundtable will be held with the participation of some 30 companies from both countries. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong is expected to attend.

A state visit to Italy by a Korean president is the first in 26 years since former President Kim Dae-jung. When the presidential aircraft carrying President Lee entered Italian airspace the previous day, two Italian Air Force Eurofighter jets escorted it.

● Lee asks EU to ensure “Korean steel companies are not disadvantaged”

Presidential Chief of Policy Kim Yong-beom said at a briefing in Rome on the 11th, “At the Korea-EU summit (the previous day), President Lee explained the importance of the steel issue to bilateral relations and asked that the EU exert its best efforts and attention so that Korean companies do not suffer unreasonable disadvantages.” He added, “The EU side responded that, since Korea is a country that shares common values and is a strategically important partner, it would give the matter maximum consideration,” and said, “Although it cannot yet be made public, it appears there will be better results for us compared with other countries.”

The EU has decided to raise tariffs on steel products from the current 25% to 50% and to reduce the duty-free import quota from 35 million tons per year to 18.3 million tons, nearly halving it. With implementation scheduled for 1 July this year, major steel-exporting countries such as Korea are competing to secure as much of the duty-free quota as possible.

Meanwhile, in an interview published that day with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera regarding the concept of “Anmi-gyeongjung” (security with the United States, economy with China), President Lee said, “Given recent changes in the geopolitical environment, I believe the existing binary approach has lost its validity,” and added, “Rather than trying to maintain a balance between the United States and China, we seek to explore a new approach based on the national interest, with a multifaceted understanding of factors of competition, cooperation, and challenge.” He also stated, “China is Korea’s largest trading partner and an indispensable supply chain partner, but it is true that as China’s industrial competitiveness and advanced technology have progressed, the competitive aspect of the relationship between our two countries has increased,” emphasizing, “At this point, the expansion of economic cooperation with the United States into advanced sectors is a factor that helps strengthen our industrial competitiveness and upgrade our economy.”

President Lee said, “Self-reliant defense means becoming a capable partner that takes responsibility for its own security, rather than a dependent ally,” and noted that his administration is pursuing the recovery of wartime operational control and an increase in defense spending.

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