South Korea, Italy sign sixth procurement MOU to advance AI-driven public purchasing

South Korea and Italy have signed their sixth memorandum of understanding on public procurement cooperation, building on a partnership that dates to their first MOU in 2008.

The Public Procurement Service (PPS), led by Commissioner Baek Seung-bo, signed the MOU with Marco Regiani, president of Italy's central procurement agency Consip, in an online written ceremony Monday.

The PPS and Consip have jointly led the Multilateral Meeting on Government Procurement (MMGP), a forum for central procurement agencies worldwide, since 2009.

The two agencies have maintained close cooperation on advancing public procurement through five renewals since their first MOU in 2008. Italy proposed the latest renewal at last year's MMGP, where its delegation was impressed by South Korea's next-generation Narajangteo procurement platform. The updated agreement aims to identify new areas of cooperation in the AI era and to strengthen the bilateral relationship.

Under the MOU, the two sides plan to exchange best practices in AI-driven digital procurement innovation and share operational expertise on new e-procurement systems, while jointly identifying leading cases in innovation procurement and green procurement. They also plan to share the results of their cooperation with the international community through bilateral and multilateral workshops, contributing to the advancement of global public procurement.

In the second half of the year, at Consip's initiative, representatives of both agencies are set to meet in person to discuss broad directions for cooperation as well as specific measures, including exchanges of procurement companies and specialists.

"This MOU renewal marks a new starting point for the two countries to shape the future of public procurement together in the AI era, built on 19 years of trust between Italy and South Korea," PPS Commissioner Baek said. "We will work to identify best practices in e-procurement, innovation procurement and green procurement — including the AI transformation of public purchasing — and share those achievements with the international community to contribute to the development of global public procurement."