The President and Mrs. Giorgio Napolitano of Italy are scheduled to pay a state visit to Korea September 13-16 at the invitation of President Lee Myung-bak.

President Lee and the Italian President will hold a summit on the morning of September 14 and discuss ways to promote substantive cooperation between Korea and Italy in various areas, including politics, the economy, culture and science. The two leaders are also expected to engage in in-depth discussions on a wide range of issues, including recent developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula, the enhancement of comprehensive Korea-EU relations, including the Korea-EU FTA, and ways to further bilateral collaboration within the G8 and G20 frameworks. After the summit, President Lee will host a state dinner for President Napolitano. At dinner, they are anticipated to exchange views on other matters of mutual interest, including the expansion of people-to-people and cultural exchanges. 

During his stay, President Napolitano is scheduled to tour the Prada Transformer exhibition hall at Gyeonghuigung Palace in Seoul. He will also attend the opening ceremony of an Italian design exhibition and the Leonardo da Vinci Exhibition on Yeongjongdo island. The island is going to house the Milano Design City, an exhibition complex. In addition, the Italian President is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of an exhibition on Italy held at the Seoul National University Museum of Art and participate in the inaugural ceremony of the newly built Italian embassy building in Seoul.

President Napolitano’s visit is the first ever by an Italian President since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1884. His state visit will add special significance to the 125th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries this year.