BRASILIA: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed to broaden bilateral cooperation beyond trade and investment into defence, aerospace, critical minerals and semiconductors, while reviving stalled trade negotiations between South Korea and the Mercosur bloc.
The two leaders also agreed to establish a joint defence industry committee and pursue a military information-sharing agreement, signalling a significant expansion of security cooperation between the two countries.
Lee and Lula held summit talks in Brasilia on Monday, their fifth meeting since Lee took office in June 2025. The visit was the first state visit to Brazil by a South Korean president in 11 years.
Speaking at a joint news conference after their 140-minute meeting, Lee said both countries had agreed to strengthen economic cooperation and accelerate efforts to conclude a trade agreement between South Korea and Mercosur.
He described the agreement as increasingly urgent amid growing uncertainty in the global trading environment.
Negotiations between South Korea and Mercosur's founding members — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — have been stalled since 2021.
Lee said the trade pact would create new opportunities for South Korean companies in South America while allowing Brazilian businesses greater access to Asian markets through South Korea.
He added that the agreement would also support cooperation in high-tech industries, supply chains, the digital economy and green growth.
To help restart negotiations, the two countries agreed to establish a high-level working group led by Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and South Korean presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom.
Lula said the group would identify and resolve outstanding issues preventing the resumption of trade talks.
Lee said the new mechanism would also deepen cooperation in the economy, industry, security and cultural exchanges.
The two leaders also pledged to strengthen cooperation in energy and critical minerals to diversify supply chains.
Lee said both sides agreed to expand collaboration across the entire critical minerals value chain involving companies and research institutions.
Brazil possesses some of the world's largest reserves of strategic minerals, including niobium, rare earth elements, graphite and nickel, which are essential for advanced manufacturing and clean energy technologies.
Defence cooperation featured prominently during the summit.
The two countries agreed to launch a joint defence industry committee later this year and work towards a General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which would facilitate the exchange of military information.
Lee cited South Korean participation in the production of components for Brazil's Embraer C-390 military transport aircraft as a symbol of growing defence ties.
South Korea selected the C-390 in 2023 under an offset programme involving South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises producing key aircraft components, marking the first purchase of a Brazilian military aircraft by the South Korean Air Force.
Lee also expressed hope that Brazil would support future South Korean defence exports.
The leaders agreed to expand cooperation in aviation and space technology.
Following the summit, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the peaceful exploration and use of outer space to facilitate commercial launches and cooperation in satellite data sharing and space exploration.
Lee said the agreement would help both countries jointly advance the future space industry.
The cooperation comes ahead of a planned September launch by South Korean private space company Innospace, which is scheduled to launch a commercial rocket from Brazil's Alcantara Space Center.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the semiconductor sector.
Lee said South Korean semiconductor companies could help boost Brazil's industrial competitiveness while providing Korean firms with a stable manufacturing base in Latin America.
Concluding the summit, Lee said the partnership demonstrated how geographical distance need not limit cooperation.
"When our two countries combine their respective strengths, the vast ocean separating us will no longer be a barrier. Instead, it will become a space of possibility where new opportunities are created," he said.- Korean Herald/ANN
