President Lee Attends G7 Summit Welcome Ceremony... Brief Conversation with Trump

Attending the G7 Summit in Evian, France as an Invited Nation
Entering the Venue Guided by President Macron
Kicking Off a Two-Day Schedule with the G7 Expanded Meeting
Plans to Share AI-Related Vision and More

President Lee Jae-myung attended the welcome ceremony as an invited guest nation at the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Évian, France, on June 16 (local time).

President Lee Jae-myung is taking a commemorative photo with the heads of state at the Group of Seven (G7) summit venue in Évian-les-Bains, France, on the 16th (local time). From the front row, left to right: Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy; Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt; Donald Trump, President of the United States; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India; Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany; Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil. June 16, 2026 Yonhap News Agency

President Lee entered the venue guided by French President Emmanuel Macron. When President Macron greeted him, President Lee responded, "I'm so happy," and they exchanged pleasantries. Afterwards, they took commemorative photos together.

Once all the world leaders had gathered, a group photo session followed. During this process, President Lee had a brief conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two leaders shared smiles and talked for about 30 seconds.

President Lee also warmly greeted Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, with whom he had already held a Korea-Italy summit, and others, before taking his place in the second row on the podium for the group photo.

Beginning with his participation in the first session of the G7 expanded summit, held under the theme of "Forging new partnerships and rebuilding international solidarity," President Lee will carry out a one-night, two-day schedule that includes expanded G7 meetings. In this session, participating countries are expected to discuss a range of solutions to strengthen development cooperation in response to the recent trend of shrinking international development aid.

In particular, President Lee intends to emphasize that, even though the development needs of recipient countries continue to grow, the official resources provided by donor nations remain insufficient, and thus, a new partnership should be sought between donor countries such as the G7 and recipient countries. He also plans to share the Korean government's vision for AI, including building a global AI-based society and establishing a global AI hub, to help ensure that technological gaps among countries do not lead to new economic disparities.

President Lee Jae-myung is conversing with U.S. President Donald Trump at the guest country welcome event held on June 16 (local time) at the France Évian-les-Bains G7 summit venue. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, regarding his attendance at the summit, President Lee posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Being invited to the summit for two consecutive years is a profoundly meaningful sign of the international community's trust and expectations toward the Republic of Korea." He added, "We plan to engage in in-depth discussions with the leaders of G7 member and guest countries on critical issues of our time, such as international solidarity, inclusive growth, and the future direction of AI and emerging technologies."

President Lee further stated, "Korea is no longer a country that follows change, but a nation that creates change and leads the future. I will proudly showcase our strengthened capabilities and confidence on the world stage and return with honor."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.