President Lee Jae-myung, who is on a state visit to Italy, signed a "Korea-Italy Development Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)" with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, under which the two countries will jointly pursue cooperation projects in Africa.
The agreement centers on regularizing a Korea-Italy Africa development cooperation policy council and pursuing pilot cooperation projects that can create synergy. The two countries agreed to jointly promote agriculture and rural development including coffee, as well as digital and education and training programs, in Uganda, Ethiopia, Egypt, and Côte d'Ivoire. Given that the target countries are major oil and gas producers in Africa, the agreement is expected to support future diversification of energy and supply chains.
At Thursday's talks, held five months after Meloni's visit to Korea in January, the two countries reaffirmed the outcomes of the summit with President Mattarella and signed a total of four MOUs, including the development cooperation agreement as well as cooperation in advanced science and technology and ICT, the social and solidarity economy, and cooperation in the fields of small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners. The development cooperation MOU drew particular attention as Korea agreed to join the "Mattei Plan (Piano Mattei)," an Africa development cooperation strategy that Meloni has been pursuing since 2024 to block illegal migration, diversify energy supply, and expand regional influence. The total investment scale of the Mattei Plan reaches 5.5 billion euros (about 9 trillion won).
In addition, the two countries adopted a "2026-2030 Korea-Italy Strategic Action Plan" document to systematically implement the agreements. The move concretizes cooperation measures for the bilateral relationship, which was elevated to a "Special Strategic Partnership" through President Lee's state visit. The document contains specific implementation plans for each MOU and proposals to expand exchanges and cooperation in fields including politics, the economy, science, culture, education, defense, and security. The two countries also agreed to strengthen communication through regular high-level visits.
President Lee will also attend the "Korea-Italy Business Roundtable" on Thursday, where he is expected to emphasize the importance of economic cooperation between the two countries and link summit diplomacy to expanded economic cooperation. The event is hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries and the General Confederation of Italian Industry.
According to the Presidential Office, President Lee will, in his keynote address, emphasize the importance of economic cooperation between Korea and Italy at a time of growing uncertainty in the international order due to the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and supply chain realignment. He is known to plan to convey the message that the two countries should broaden the scope of cooperation in advanced technology, energy, and future industries, based on their shared status as manufacturing powerhouses.
The event will be attended by major Korean business leaders, including Ryu Jin, chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries; Jay Y. Lee, chairman of Samsung Electronics; Koo Ja-eun, chairman of LS Group; Cho Hyun-joon, chairman of Hyosung Group; Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver; Kim Jung-soo, chairwoman of Samyang Foods; Sung Kim, president of Hyundai Motor; Kim Dong-chun, president of LG Chem; and Moon Jae-young, president of HD Construction Equipment. On the Italian side, Emanuele Orsini, president of the General Confederation of Italian Industry, will participate, along with representatives of leading companies including Fincantieri, Ferrari, Eni Live, and Kiko Milano.
