Valentino Valentini, Italian vice minister of enterprises and Made in Italy, urged deeper technological cooperation with South Korea, saying the two countries should act as partners rather than competitors in areas such as artificial intelligence, applied science and advanced manufacturing.
Valentini, who led the Italy-Korea Business Forum 2025 in Seoul, said Italy offers political stability, “fantastic manufacturing” and a one-stop shop for investors, but remains overlooked by many Korean tech firms. Misconceptions persist, he added, with Italy often narrowly associated with fashion, food and furniture.
“Instead of competing with massive horizontal AI models dominated by the US or China, we should focus on vertical applications,” Valentini told The Korea Herald in an interview. “AI is where the crux is — in monetization and application. If on top of digitization you put AI, then it will work.”
The forum brought together 115 companies and facilitated 160 business-to-business meetings in sectors such as semiconductors, robotics, health care and green industries. Valentini said Italy’s strong research base and Korea’s practical strengths could complement each other in industrial artificial intelligence adoption, with Industry 4.0 automation and robotics now giving way to 3D printing integrated with AI.
“Are we competitors, or are we learning?” he said. “The second solution is the most successful in economic terms. The results of collaboration will be higher than the sum of our two economies together.”
Valentini said his mission in Seoul was to provide “concrete and substantial impulse” to bilateral relations. He also noted that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had planned to visit but sent him in her place due to domestic priorities.
“I tell Korean companies to come and see Italy because I think the tariff turmoil is not over. The tariff turmoil will be with us for years to come … we all have to look around amongst like-minded countries in order to successfully compete,” he said.
Valentini encouraged Korean SMEs to engage with Italy’s trade agency and Ministry of Enterprises, promising support through business matching and mentoring to make substantial investments.
“Come have a look at Italy and it can have a justification,” adding that Italian SMEs thrive through clusters, supply chains, digitization and AI.
“Even small companies produce data … collection and evaluation of information makes it useful and justifies circular and global value chains.”
sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com
