Lee, Trump revisit military shipbuilding cooperation at NATO summit dinner

President Lee Jae Myung met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Turkey during the NATO Summit, where the two leaders discussed cooperation on military shipbuilding.

The meeting took place during an official welcome dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and first lady Emine Erdogan on Tuesday evening, the Blue House said in a written briefing on Wednesday.

The meeting came about three weeks after the two leaders last met during the Group of 7 Summit in Évian, France.

"President Lee held follow-up talks on military shipbuilding, which President Trump requested during their previous meeting," the Blue House said. "President Lee said Korea would provide as much cooperation as possible and introduced Korean companies with world-class shipbuilding capabilities."

The two leaders reportedly agreed to continue working-level discussions to develop specific plans for cooperation on military shipbuilding.

Following the conversation, the two leaders also revisited their plan to play golf together, first discussed during the G7 summit, the Blue House said.

They agreed to arrange Lee's visit to the United States at an appropriate time and to include a round of golf during the trip.

First lady Kim Hea Kyung also attended the dinner alongside President Lee.

During the reception, Lee also held a series of conversations with other world leaders on bilateral cooperation.

Seated next to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Lee exchanged views on international issues, such as developments on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East.

The two leaders also agreed that countries sharing common values, including support for the rules-based international order and multilateralism, should strengthen cooperation amid growing global uncertainty, the Blue House said.

Lee discussed cooperation in wind and nuclear energy with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten. Lee also met with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić to discuss ways Korean companies could participate in infrastructure projects, including the construction of airports in Montenegro.

Lee also met with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Speaker of Parliament Numan Kurtulmus. They agreed to expand cooperation in security, the economy, digital technology and people-to-people exchanges to strengthen the two countries' strategic partnership.

Lee also greeted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Romanian President Nicușor Dan, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]