Lee wraps up visit to Italy, heads to France to attend G7 summit

President Lee Jae Myung left Italy on Tuesday for Evian-les-Bains, France, to attend the G7 summit, after holding talks with Italian leaders and the Pope. The trip aims to expand Korea's diplomatic outreach to Europe, with agreements on strategic partnership and cooperation in semiconductors and AI.

President Lee Jae Myung left Italy on Tuesday en route to Evian-les-Bains, France, to attend a Group of Seven G7 summit. The presidential plane carrying Lee and his entourage took off from Leonardo da Vinci International Airport for Geneva, from where the Korean president will travel by land to the French resort town of Evian, the final stop of his ongoing trip. The president has been in Europe since last Tuesday, his first visit to the region since taking office a year earlier, to expand Korea's diplomatic outreach to Europe. In Italy, the second stop of his trip following his earlier visit to Belgium, Lee held talks with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, agreeing to elevate their countries' bilateral relations to a special strategic partnership and explore cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence AI and other strategic areas. He also held talks with Pope Leo XIV and reaffirmed the Vatican's support for Seoul's efforts to build peace on the Korean Peninsula. In Evian, Lee is scheduled to attend the G7 summit later in the day and on Wednesday