South Korea’s Lee seeks to deepen AI, defense ties with Italy

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday sought to enhance bilateral relations with Italy in various areas, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the defense industry.

Lee held his first meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni since his inauguration in June on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The two leaders “agreed to work together to further strengthen and promote cultural exchanges between our two countries,” Lee wrote on the US social media company X on Thursday.

“I proposed that our governments and businesses, as strategic partners, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as AI and defense industry,” he added.

According to Lee, Meloni expressed her hope to visit South Korea in the near future to explore “concrete avenues of cooperation.”

Separately on Wednesday, Lee also met with Polish President Karol Nawrocki for the first time since his inauguration, where he “expressed strong appreciation for the development of cooperation in the defense industry, particularly focused on tanks.”

Lee “agreed to expand cooperation so that companies from both countries can achieve greater results on a mutually beneficial basis,” he wrote on X on Thursday.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the regional and global issues, and agreed to “further consolidate our cooperation within the international community going forward.”