South Korean Prez heads to Italy after talks with Belgian, EU leaders in Brussels
Brussels, June 11 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has left Belgium en route to Italy, the second stop in his visit to Europe, where he will hold talks with the Italian president and prime minister.
Lee’s departure on Wednesday (Local time) followed his talks with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever earlier in the day, followed by a summit with leaders of the European Union — Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, president of the European Council.
In their bilateral summit, Lee and De Wever agreed to joint efforts to expand investment between their countries in advanced sectors, such as batteries, materials and energy, and also enhance market access for their respective businesses, turning their countries into strategic bases for each other for overseas expansion, reports Yonhap news agency.
Lee’s trip to Belgium, the first leg of his 10-day trip that began Tuesday, came as Seoul and Brussels mark the 125th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations this year.
In their meeting, Lee and the EU leaders condemned “illegal military cooperation” between North Korea and Russia that they said enabled Russia to continue its aggression against Ukraine, while urging Pyongyang and Moscow to halt all related activities and comply with relevant resolutions by the United Nations Security Council.
The two sides also signed an agreement to launch negotiations for a bilateral information security pact as part of efforts to boost security and defence cooperation.
In Italy, the South Korean president is scheduled to hold a summit with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Thursday and talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni the following day.
He will make a two-day trip from Sunday to the Vatican, where he is scheduled to visit with Pope Leo XIV, before heading to France for the Group of Seven (G7) summit that will be attended by global leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
–IANS
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