President Lula’s press statement during his State visit to South Korea

My dear friend, President of the Republic of Korea [Lee Jae-Myung]; my dear Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea, Cho Hyun.

My dear Ambassador Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, on behalf of whom I greet the entire Brazilian delegation participating in this event.

This state visit closes a fundamental cycle of Brazil's foreign policy during my third term.

Over the past three years, we have strengthened our ties with Asia, the dynamic center of the world economy.

I have been to China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Last October, I was the first Brazilian president to participate in an ASEAN Summit.

This tour would not be complete without Korea, a global benchmark in technology, innovation, and culture.

This is my third visit to Seoul.

I made an official visit in 2005 and returned in 2010 for the G20 Summit.

Since then, no other Brazilian leader has visited South Korea.

This hiatus is incompatible with the social and economic ties that exist between our peoples.

Today, we are elevating the relationship between Brazil and Korea to the level of a Strategic Partnership and launching an Action Plan with concrete initiatives for the next three years.

By strengthening cooperation and exchange mechanisms, we will make the human and solidarity ties that unite us even stronger.

Brazil is home to the largest Korean community in Latin America, harboring around 50 thousand people.

For over 60 years, these people have honored us with their work, their culture, and their cuisine.

There are millions of K-pop, K-drama, and K-food admirers across Brazil.

Almost 2 thousand Brazilian citizens currently live in Korea, and this number continues to grow.

Despite the geographical distance between the two countries, the recent political histories of Brazil and Korea have much in common.

In the 1980s, after long periods of struggle and resistance, we achieved redemocratization.

Four decades later, we are again facing attempts at a coup d'état.

Fortunately, when put to the test, our democracies have shown strength and resilience.

In the face of attacks on national institutions, we reaffirmed the strength of popular sovereignty.

In times of extremism, disinformation, and authoritarian threats, we must bring together leaders who are committed to democratic values.

I reiterated my invitation to President Lee to participate in the meeting in defense of democracy which will be held in Barcelona in April.

Brazil and Korea are staunch defenders of peace, multilateralism, and international law.

Korea is a partner in the fight against climate change, and played a very constructive role at COP30 in Belém.

Korea's new Nationally Determined Contribution reflects its commitment to decarbonization.

Our countries also have a successful history of economic cooperation.

Brazil is the main destination for Korean investments in Latin America.

With an exchange of USD 11 billion, Korea is our fourth-largest trading partner in Asia.

But there are still many synergies to explore.

The energy transition opens up new fronts of complementarity between productive sectors.

Critical mineral chains hold countless opportunities for value addition.

There is ample room for cooperation in high-tech segments such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

I explained to President Lee that the completion of sanitary procedures for the export of Brazilian beef could benefit Korean consumers.

Sectors ranging from the beauty industry to audiovisual media can be enhanced by new partnerships.

To foster reciprocal investments, we signed a Framework Agreement on Trade and Productive Integration that will facilitate bilateral trade, promote regulatory harmonization, and bring more security to companies.

We also signed a memorandum that will strengthen financial cooperation on agendas that are of common interest to both countries.

Regarding negotiations between MERCOSUR and the Republic of Korea, we discussed ways to resume talks that were interrupted in 2021.

Today, we signed agreements on a wide range of topics such as health, entrepreneurship, agriculture, science and technology, and combating transnational organized crime.

In the field of health, the instruments cover the production of medicines and vaccines; research into the diagnosis of communicable and chronic diseases; as well as advanced genomics and digital health.

My Minister of Health will visit another smart hospital here in Korea, in search of best practices for the Brazilian Unified Health System, SUS.

Soon, my government will inaugurate Brazil's first smart hospital in São Paulo.

Artificial intelligence will also be the subject of joint initiatives to support micro, small, and medium-sized startups.

In agriculture, we will collaborate on projects related to climate adaptation, bioeconomy, food security, and agro-industrial technologies.

In the scientific and technological field, the sectors of biotechnology, aerospace, digital transition, advanced mobile communications, and the Internet of Things will all be covered.

Less than a week ago, in a beautiful coincidence, we celebrated both the Korean Lunar New Year and the Brazilian Carnival at the same time.

Now we are beginning a renewed cycle of development and shared prosperity between Brazil and Korea.

There is a lot of work ahead of us.

Significantly, this state visit is taking place in the rare Year of the Fire Horse, which occurs every 60 years and brings with it great transformations and opportunities.

I hope to welcome you to Brazil soon and to show you the same level of hospitality that has been shown to my delegation.

Thank you very much.