Seoul: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held a summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as Seoul seeks to strengthen cooperation with the South American country in critical minerals and supply chains.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Lee-Lula summit in Brasilia marks their second official talks this year, following their previous summit in February in Seoul, where the leaders agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership. Escorted by mounted honor guards, Lee arrived at the Brazilian presidential palace in the capital and was greeted by Lula with a hug and a smile. The South Korean president arrived in Brazil on Sunday as part of his three-nation South America tour that will later take him to Chile and Argentina.
The leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation, especially in critical minerals and supply chains, as Seoul aims to diversify its trade portfolio amid shifts in the global trade environment. They also agreed on the importance of resuming stalled negotiations on a trade agreement between South Korea and the South American trade bloc Mercosur. South Korea and Mercosur, one of the world's largest trade blocs, began formal negotiations for a trade pact in 2018, but the talks have stalled since late 2021.
Lee and Lula stressed the need to resume negotiations for a South Korea-Mercosur trade pact when they last met in February. On the occasion of Lee's visit to Brazil, the two countries signed a total of seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) aimed at strengthening cooperation in aerospace, supply chains, and cultural sectors.
One of the MOUs, on aerospace cooperation, aims to streamline regulations and procedures for South Korean firms using Brazilian launch facilities while pursuing cooperation in lunar exploration, the space sector, and satellite data sharing, according to Seoul's presidential office. Under the signed MOUs, the South Korean government will also strengthen supply chain cooperation and expand exchanges in education, sports, and the film industry.