The Secretary-General, Paolo Piacenza, receives Ambassador Seong-ho Lee of the Republic of Korea in the historic Port Authority headquarters of Palazzo San Giorgio, during the course of his first official visit to Genoa since his appointment to Italy in April 2022.
The meeting provided Ambassador Lee with the opportunity to receive an update on the full range of major infrastructure projects underway in the Ports of Genoa, Savona and Vado Ligure, and to address a number of issues of port development which both the Ligurian Capital and the City of Busan, Korea's leading port, have in common. Within this framework, both parties pledged their support to boosting further industrial and trade relations between the South-Eastern Asian country and the Ports of Genoa which in 2021 registered almost 65,000 TEUs with Busan, thereby firmly establishing the Korean port amongst the top six ports in terms of trade with the Ligurian maritime hub. In fact, South Korea ranks as one Northern Italy's leading trading partners and is a major destination of Italian exports and importer of consumer goods.
Ambassador Lee was flanked at Palazzo San Giorgio by the Consul General in Milan, Hyung-shik Kang, and the Honorary Consul in Genoa, Carlo Cavalleri. The meeting was followed by a visit by boat of terminal facilities and shipyards with Port Authority management, including an on-site inspection of PSA Genova Pra' where the Korean shipping line HMM offers regular liner services.