President Lee Jae-myung and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held a summit at Cheong Wa Dae on January 19 and agreed to significantly strengthen their strategic partnership in advanced manufacturing and future core technology sectors. Through this meeting, the two nations established a concrete cooperation framework for their public institutions and private-sector companies with the signing of an "MOU on Semiconductor Cooperation" drawing the most attention. The agreements are interpreted as demonstrating both nations' resolve to strengthen cooperation amid the global semiconductor supply
On January 15, two men— President Lee Jae-myung and Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Executive Affairs Authority—shook hands in the reception room of Cheong Wa Dae. Held before a wall covered with traditional symbols for longevity emblazoned in gold, their meeting reaffirmed a “century-long companionship,” one that began around 16 years earlier when a delegation led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) won a contract to build a nuclear power plant complex in Barakah, UAE, in 2009. Chairman Khaldoon’s smile in the photograph is genuine; he considers Korea his “second