The Italian embassy celebrated on Tuesday its constitutional referendum of 1946, which laid down the country’s republican and democratic principles after Benito Mussolini’s fascist rule.

The reception at the ambassador’s residence in Seoul, which gathered over 500 guests, also marked the last national day hosted by Italian Ambassador Sergio Mercuri, who has served in Korea for six and a half years on two diplomatic missions.

Pointing out Korea’s hosting of the 2015 OSCE-Asian Conference in Seoul on Monday, Mercuri stressed: “Korea hosting the conference on the theme of the changing global security environment and vision of multilateral security cooperation shows the importance the Korean government attaches to regional peace and prosperity.

“Peace and stability in East Asia is paramount to the security in the world, and Italy will continue to contribute in all possible ways to our shared goals,” he added.

Korean Deputy Minister for multilateral and global affairs Shin Dong-ik said in a speech: “As partners in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe since 1994, we discussed many different issues of international security in the last two days, including terrorism, cyberspace threats and natural disasters.

“Korea is the only country that signed three agreements with the EU on political cooperation, free trade and crisis management. We would like to apply lessons learned in Europe to our Northeast Asia Peace and Security Initiative,” Shin added.

Italy and Korea established diplomatic relations in 1884, and exchanged state visits last year when President Park Geun-hye visited Rome and Milan in October on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting and Korea-Italy Business Forum on Creative Economy.

Through these venues, the two governments signed new treaties and memorandums on fashion, design, pharmacy and information communication technology, and vowed to expand cooperation between small and medium-sized companies.

SMEs in Italy comprise over 70 percent of the country’s companies and 80 percent of gross domestic product. Employing less than 250 employees, the businesses, many of which have been family-run for centuries, make up over 65 percent of Italian exports and 80 percent of jobs.

The annual trade volume between Italy and Korea is near $10 billion within the EU-Korea free trade agreement, and the two countries are currently working to eliminate double taxation and promote working holidays.

At the 2015 Milan Expo held under the theme “Feeding the planet, energy for life” from May to October, Korea will dedicate a pavilion, which will display a variety of healthy dishes. On June 23, a Korean national day will be celebrated in Milan.

Starting June 5, the Alitalia airline will resume a direct flight between Incheon and Rome after more than 20 years’ hiatus, in an effort to boost tourism to Italy during the exposition period and Italian exports to Korea.

Three flights per week will run during the summer, and the number will increase to four starting in November. The flight runs in consort with the Sky Team partner Korean Air, which also provides daily service between the two countries.

By Joel Lee  (joel@heraldcorp.com)