President Lee Jae-myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva agreed Wednesday to expand economic cooperation, with a focus on critical minerals, as the two nations upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership.
"Let us leverage our respective potential and complementary strengths to further broaden the horizons of economic cooperation," Lee said during expanded bilateral talks at Cheong Wa Dae.
The two countries adopted a "Strategic Partnership Four-Year Action Plan" to guide collaboration across critical minerals, environment, space industry, culture, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Lula responded by highlighting investment opportunities in Brazil's mineral sector.
"Brazil possesses the world's largest rare earth reserves and substantial nickel deposits," Lula said. "We hope to attract investment from Korean companies in critical minerals."
The Brazilian leader emphasized his country's interest in partnering with Korean firms in semiconductors, space, and defense industries, with critical minerals as the priority.
Lula also called for discussions on green industry, energy transition, and decarbonization, urging South Korea to join Brazil's Tropical Forest Conservation Fund launched last year.
Beyond industrial cooperation, the two leaders discussed strengthening personal ties and expanding people-to-people exchanges.
"Both nations overcame past hardships to become global players, which bears many similarities to each other's political journeys," Lee said. "President Lula's personal life story also resembles mine in many ways."
Lee concluded his remarks with "Obrigado," meaning "thank you" in Portuguese, Brazil's official language.