Yoon Holds Relay Summits Until Final Moments of Tour... Urges Support and Strengthened Cooperation for Expo

Last Day of G20 Summit
Germany, Italy, and Mauritius Hold Consecutive Bilateral Talks

President Yoon Suk-yeol held a series of summit meetings with the leaders of Germany, Italy, and Mauritius on the final day of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit on the 10th, seeking support for the bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Additionally, through these consecutive summit talks, President Yoon explored industrial and economic cooperation measures with the respective leaders.

According to the Presidential Office, President Yoon announced in a press release distributed that day that he held separate summit meetings with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.

At the Korea-Germany summit, President Yoon appealed to Chancellor Scholz for Germany's support for the 2030 Busan Expo. The two leaders also agreed that the recent active high-level exchanges between the two countries are evidence of a strong partnership, and they expressed hope that various events commemorating the 140th anniversary of exchanges between the two countries this year would further broaden mutual understanding and exchanges between their peoples. President Yoon also noted that he understands Germany is striving to strengthen its semiconductor ecosystem by attracting major semiconductor companies and fostering talent, and he expressed hope that the two countries would continue to cooperate to enhance the competitiveness of their industries and stabilize the global semiconductor supply chain.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, attending the G20 summit, shakes hands with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during the South Korea-Italy summit held at Bharat Mandapam, the summit venue in New Delhi, India, on the 10th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

President Yoon then held a summit meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. During this meeting, President Yoon requested Italy's cooperation in the bid for the 2030 Busan Expo and expressed expectations for Italy to demonstrate leadership as the chair country of next year's G7 summit. Rome, Italy, is one of the candidate cities for hosting the 2030 Expo, along with Busan and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Regarding mutual cooperation, the two leaders agreed that considering the complementary trade structures of the two countries, there is great potential for expanding trade and investment. Building on past cooperation, they agreed to further expand collaboration in future industries such as defense, semiconductors, and aerospace. In particular, Prime Minister Meloni mentioned that the Italian Minister of Defense will attend the International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) to be held in Seoul this October to advance discussions on bilateral defense cooperation. Furthermore, the two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level, including strengthening the ‘strategic partnership’ between the two countries in celebration of the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year.

President Yoon then held a summit meeting with Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth. President Yoon requested Mauritius's support for the 2030 Busan World Expo and exchanged views on ways to develop bilateral relations. President Yoon said, "I hope that the relationship between our two countries will further develop based on our commonalities of stable democracy and open economy," adding, "South Korea seeks to expand cooperation with Mauritius, a key country in the Indian Ocean coastal Africa region." Prime Minister Jugnauth highly appreciated the cooperation projects between the two countries in areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, public administration, and education, and mentioned that there is great potential for cooperation in fields such as the blue economy, which refers to the sustainable use of marine resources, and tourism.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, attending the G20 Summit, shakes hands with Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius, at the Korea-Mauritius summit held on the 10th (local time) at Bharat Mandapam, the summit venue in New Delhi, India.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.