President Lee Jae Myung on Sept. 8 attends an expanded summit with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, the French presidential palace in Paris, after a private luncheon. (Cheong Wa Dae)

By Lee Ji Yae

President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to France has resulted in the signing of 16 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to expand bilateral cooperation.

In the presence of the two leaders immediately after their summit, nine of the 16 accords were exchanged on Sept. 8.

President Lee's trip reciprocated the one to Korea in April by French President Emmanuel Macron.

President Lee attended a one-on-one luncheon with his counterpart for about two hours, followed by an expanded meeting with delegations from both sides at the Elysee Palace, the French presidential mansion in Paris.

At a signing ceremony immediately after their talks, Seoul and Paris concluded agreements covering cooperation in nine areas: defense, aerospace, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and quantum technology, nuclear energy, industrial competitiveness, intellectual property, space and culture.

Samsung Electronics also signed an investment deal with the French company Mistral AI.

The two countries signed a protocol revising their 2001 agreement on the protection of classified military information. The amendment reflects France's new classification system and greatly raises information security through new provisions restricting access to confidential military data.

Through this, both sides have laid the institutional basis for further refining their system of military data exchange and bolstering defense cooperation.

The two leaders also pledged to finalize an accord on joint logistics support as soon as possible.

They also set concrete plans for practical cooperation in advanced technologies. As a follow-up to a letter of intent signed in April, both sides concluded an MOU on cooperation in AI, semiconductors and quantum technology to expand access to each other's markets by AI startups and promote joint research and development between companies and think tanks.

Following a joint news conference, Presidents Lee and Macron moved to the Hotel de Marigny, the official state guesthouse, to attend a business roundtable with 20 companies from both countries. The two leaders spoke to executives there and urged more exchanges and investment between Korean and French companies.

"These reciprocal state visits by the two leaders, which were held just five months apart, have further boosted their trust and ties," National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a briefing. "This has created an opportunity to develop bilateral cooperation in a more concrete and substantive manner."

ljyhwa@korea.kr