The first session of the Strategic Meetings on Industry, Energy and Trade with South Korea was held this morning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the Italian side, the meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Minister Manlio Di Stefano and, on the Korean side, by the South Korean Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Park Jin-Kyu.
The meeting took stock of existing bilateral cooperation and the crucial prospects for industrial collaboration in advanced technologies and robotics, health, biotechnology and textiles, as well as in the field of natural gas, hydrogen and renewables, and trade and investment facilitation. The horizon opened up to the possibility of new intergovernmental agreements, especially in research and development, and to the possibility of B2B and B2G events in the areas mentioned.
This consultation mechanism was established in 2018 on the occasion of the official visit paid to Italy by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. It led to the elevation of bilateral relations to Strategic Partnership, consistent with the convergence of interests between the two countries in a multilateral framework and the growing bilateral economic and trade relations.
“Italy and South Korea are economies united by transformative capacity and entrepreneurial inventiveness,” the Deputy Minister said. Korea is the country that imports more Italian products per capita in East Asia and represents a reference market for our companies in the region. Moreover, Korea is one of the countries in the world that invests the most in research and development. For this reason, we see significant prospects for scientific and technological cooperation in the coming years.
Particular emphasis was laid on the issue of decarbonisation and renewable energy. “Italy and Korea share the objectives of the Paris Agreement and that of climate neutrality by 2050. 2021 is a pivotal year when our collective choices and actions will determine what happens in the next decade in terms of energy and climate. Following the success of the G20 Energy and Climate Ministerial Meeting in Naples, we must continue to work together in the context of the G20 Summit and COP26. With the Korean Green New Deal, Seoul will also invest heavily in renewable energy. With its companies and cutting-edge technologies, Italy is ready to support this fundamental transformation of the Korean economic system towards less impactful models,” the Deputy Minister concluded.
