President Lee Jae-myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a "strategic partnership."
President Lee announced this during a joint press conference following a summit with President Lula, who was on a state visit, at Cheong Wa Dae on the 23rd.
"Korea and Brazil have maintained close cooperation based on complementary economic structures," President Lee said. "Bilateral trade has consistently exceeded $10 billion annually over the past five years, and cooperation is expanding into promising future sectors such as space, bio-pharmaceuticals, and cultural industries."
He added, "Based on this solid cooperative relationship, President Lula and I have decided to elevate our bilateral relations to a 'strategic partnership.'"
President Lee emphasized both nations' commitment to advancing relations across politics, economy, practical cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges through the "Korea-Brazil Four-Year Action Plan."
The summit covered four key areas: expanding mutually beneficial economic cooperation, signing 10 memoranda of understanding and agreements, discussing global and regional issues, and enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
"Brazil is a key member of Mercosur," President Lee said. "I explained the need to promptly resume negotiations for a trade agreement between Korea and Mercosur, and President Lula deeply agreed that concluding a trade agreement is an urgent task."
The 10 MOUs and agreements cover small and medium-sized enterprises, health regulations, agriculture, and defense-space-aviation cooperation.
"Last December's launch attempt of Hanbit-Nano, Korea's first commercial launch vehicle, at Brazil's Alcântara Space Center became an important asset for bilateral space cooperation," President Lee said. "I expect the launch will succeed in the near future."
He noted that supply chain cooperation in aviation is underway, with Korean parts companies participating in Brazilian transport aircraft manufacturing. "Going forward, bilateral cooperation will advance to the next level, including joint development of next-generation commercial aircraft," he said.
"Above all, today's summit was truly meaningful in that we shared a common vision and tasks to improve the lives of our people," President Lee said. "President Lula has presented a major role model for 'inclusive growth,' demonstrating that poverty eradication and economic development can be achieved simultaneously. This aligns with our government's core vision of building a sustainable growth model while enhancing economic dynamism based on a basic society."
President Lee added that he explained the vision of an "AI Basic Society" where everyone shares the benefits of artificial intelligence advancement, and proposed joint research on policies that create synergy between welfare and the economy.