I would like to stress a few of them and I am confident that in 2022 the new planned appointments will reach an even greater audience.

Since its establishment in 2016, the World Week of Italian Cuisine has become a highly anticipated event in Korea, dedicated to the promotion of the Italian food and wine tradition. Last year the theme chosen was “Tradition and perspectives on Italian cuisine: awareness and enhancement of food sustainability”. The many events held, among which the Cooking class with Chef Paolo de Maria, the “Italian Hospitality” certificate delivery ceremony and the final business dinner jointly organized with the Chamber of Commerce, were a huge success. Let me use this occasion to invite you to the 2022 edition, which will be held in the 3rd week of November.

A further project that I was particularly invested in was “The Italian Job”, an initiative launched last December, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Italian Studies Center at the Italian Department of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. The project seeks to bring Korean citizens who studied and can speak Italian closer to Italian companies in search of cultura mediators. The new recruiting platform is featured on the Italian Chamber of Commerce official website, gathering and publishing job offers of ITCCK’s members to help them find the perfect candidate for the openings. “The Italian Job” represents a major link between our countries, as it seeks to bridge the gap, not only between our two languages, but also between our two cultures, bringing us even closer.

As you know, 2021 was a record year for commercial relations between Italy and Korea. I can only welcome the increase of exchange between our countries: data show that in 2021 Italian exports towards Korea recorded a +20,3% growth compared to the previous year, for a total value of over 8 billion dollars, reaching its highest level ever: automotive, fashion and industrial machinery were the sectors which registered the most outstanding trends.

As we look ahead, I am confident that we can continue this momentum and achieve even more.

I am also even more confident that, despite the challenges ahead of us, we will succeed in building an economic system capable of valuing our dearest principles of sustainable development and green innovation, which became the priority of Italy’s foreign policy in the year of Italy’s G20 presidency and the co-presidency of COP26.