Italian premier in Seoul for summit with South Korean president

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has arrived in Seoul for a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, according to an official statement on Sunday.

Ahead of her summit with Lee on Monday, Meloni visited the Seoul National Cemetery on Sunday, which honors the soldiers who died during the Korean War, the statement from Meloni's office said.

Lee is set to host Meloni for official talks on Monday, marking the first bilateral visit to Seoul by an Italian prime minister to South Korea in almost two decades and the first by a European leader since Lee assumed office last June.

After the talks, the two leaders are expected to sign several agreements.

South Korea ranks as Italy's fourth-largest trading partner in Asia and is Italy's top Asian export destination on a per-capita basis.

Since the South Korea-EU free trade agreement came into force in 2012, the trade volume between the two countries has expanded steadily, climbing from $8.08 billion in 2012 to $12.6 billion in 2024.

The two nations established formal diplomatic ties in 1956.

Meloni flew to Seoul from Japan during her tri-nation trip, which included Oman as her first stop.