South Korea and Italy will expand science and technology cooperation centred on three areas: artificial intelligence, climate change and bio, South Korea\'s Ministry of Science and ICT said. The two countries held the 13th Korea-Italy Joint Committee on Science and Technology in Rome with Italy\'s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. They reviewed outcomes from joint bio and chemistry research, discussed future agendas including physical AI semiconductors and climate-response crops, and explored broader cooperation on brain disease research. The next meeting will be held in Seoul.

South Korea\'s Vice Prime Minister Bae Kyeong-hoon (배경훈) met a European Union executive commissioner in Brussels to discuss ways to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence and science and technology, the science ministry said. He accompanied President Lee Jae-myung on a state visit to Belgium and the EU. Bae also met Korean researchers at IMEC and discussed Horizon Europe participation, joint research in AI-driven innovation, advanced biotech and quantum technology, and wider researcher exchanges.