According to the Associated Press on the 28th, Lee Jae-ming, who is on a state visit to Brazil, held a meeting with President Lula in Brasília on the 27th, local time, and met with reporters together after the meeting. The two countries announced that 2026 would mark the first year of the leap forward in the “Strategic Partnership between Korea and Brazil” and signed seven cooperation documents.
“In the context of increasing uncertainty in the international economic and trade environment, the signing of a trade agreement between South Korea and the Mercosur has become an urgent and important issue that cannot be delayed any longer,” Lee said. The Mercosur, which comprises Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, is the largest economic integration organization in South America.
To promote related cooperation, the two countries have already initiated the “Economic and Trade Committees,” a high-level negotiation mechanism for industry, economy and trade, prior to the talks. The two sides also agreed to push for the resumption of the trade agreement negotiations between South Korea and the Communist Party of South Korea, which had fallen into stagnation, and to set up a working group to conduct follow-up discussions, led by Brazilian Vice President Alkemín and South Korea‘s Chief Policy Officer, Kim Yong-fan. Lula said he would work hard to remove obstacles to the resumption of negotiations.
Lee Jae-ming and Lula make love gestures together during a photo shoot. Photo: Korean Media
Key mineral supply chain cooperation was also a focus of the talks. Lee said the two countries agreed to expand full-cycle cooperation in key mineral exploration, development, processing and supply. They also signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation to promote cooperation in the fields of clean energy and energy transformation.
In the military and industrial sector, the two countries agreed to set up a military and industrial joint committee in the second half of this year and push for the signing of military and defense confidential information exchange and protection agreements. The Korean Air Force is about to introduce a Brazilian C-390 transport aircraft using components produced independently by Korean companies, and the two sides plan to use this as an opportunity to further expand cooperation in the aerospace field.
During the talks, the two countries signed a total of seven cooperation documents covering areas such as industrial technology, aerospace, energy, education, film, and cybersecurity. After the talks ended, Lee and Lula attended the signing ceremony together. The two then embraced and made love gestures together during a photo shoot, displaying a relaxed cooperative atmosphere.