Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni waves as she departs after a meeting of the 'Coalition of the Willing' on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Jan. 6, 2026. (AP)


President Lee Jae Myung will host Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for an official visit to South Korea from Jan. 17 to 19, Cheong 한국릴게임 Wa Dae announced Friday.
Meloni will be the first European leader to visit South Korea since the Lee administration launched in June.
Meloni will also be the first foreign dignitar 릴게임예시 y welcomed since the presidential office recently returned to Cheong Wa Dae. For Italy, Meloni’s trip will mark the first bilateral visit to South Korea by an Italian prime minister in 19 years.
바다신2릴게임 Lee and Meloni are to hold a summit and an official luncheon on Jan. 19, during which they are expected to discuss strengthening key areas of cooperation and global issues, according to Cheong Wa 사이다쿨접속방법 Dae.
“Specifically, the two sides plan to hold wide-ranging discussions across various fields, including trade and investment; cooperation in advanced industries such as AI, space, defense 릴게임바다신2 and semiconductors, as well as science and technology; education and cultural cooperation; and people-to-people exchanges,” Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.
Italy serves as South Korea’s fourth-largest trading partner within the European Union, and around 1 million South Koreans visit Italy each year, according to the presidential office.
Lee is also expected to ask Italy to pay special attention to the safety of South Korean athletes and nationals at the Milan Cortina Olympics to be held in Italy next month.
“Prime Minister Meloni’s visit to South Korea on this occasion is expected to serve as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation across various fields with Italy, a major political, economic and military power in Europe and the home of culture and the arts,” Cheong Wa Dae said.
In this visit it is also "expected that the strategic partnership between the two countries, established in 2018, will be further solidified.”