The first Italy–South Korea Business Forum was held today in Seoul. The event, opened by the Deputy Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Valentino Valentini, marked an important step in strengthening the economic partnership with South Korea.
The country is the leading per capita consumer in Asia of Made in Italy products and a priority market for achieving the development goals towards Asia set out in the Action Plan for Italian Exports, launched last March by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani.
Since 2012, also thanks to the EU–Korea Free Trade Agreement, bilateral trade has increased by 56%, reaching a value of EUR 11.4 billion in 2024. Minister Tajani’s objective is to further strengthen Italy’s presence in this market, which shows a marked interest in Italian excellence, and to deepen cooperation between the respective production chains in high-technology sectors.
Organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation together with the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), and in cooperation with Confindustria and the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the Forum brought together 370 representatives from over 170 Italian and Korean companies, with the aim of deepening bilateral cooperation in technological innovation and advanced manufacturing. The programme was further enriched by 150 B2B meetings and four thematic seminars focusing on strategic sectors, ranging from artificial intelligence to semiconductors, from robotics to green industries and the pharmaceutical–healthcare sector.
On this occasion, SACE signed a Push Strategy Agreement with Daewoo E&C and Natixis Bank, along with three Memoranda of Understanding: between the Export–Import Bank of Korea, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and SIMEST, to strengthen trade and investment relations and support the financing of initiatives in emerging markets; between the Korean Association of Robotics and UCIMU, for cooperation in robotics and advanced technologies; and between the Busan–Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Korea, to promote trade, investment and economic cooperation.
