In a joint statement, presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Lee Jae-myung, of South Korea, announced, this Monday (23), in Seoul, agreements in the areas of agriculture, technology, medicines and an increase in cultural and educational exchange. They reinforced the commitment of both countries to expanding bilateral trade.
After the visit to India, Lula met this morning with the Korean president. In an interview, the two presidents also highlighted the commitment of both countries to democratic values and the strengthening of popular sovereignty in the face of scenarios of extremism, disinformation and authoritarian threats.
“I made an official visit in 2005 and returned in 2010, on the occasion of the G20 Summit. Since then, no other Brazilian leader has come to the country. This hiatus is incompatible with the social and economic ties that exist between our peoples. Today, we have elevated the relationship between Brazil and Korea to the level of Strategic Partnership and launched an Action Plan with concrete initiatives for the next three years”, said Lula
The Brazilian president also spoke about commercial ties between Brazil and South Korea:
“Brazil is the main destination for Korean investments in Latin America. With exchanges of US$ 11 billion, Korea is our 4th trading partner in Asia”, he said. And he added: “Now, we begin a renewed cycle of development and shared prosperity”.
Lula cited other areas in which the two countries can work together.
“The energy transition opens up new fronts of complementarity between productive sectors. Critical mineral chains hold countless opportunities for adding value. There is ample room for cooperation in high-technology segments, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.”
The president cited the importance of the agreements signed with the Asian country.
“We signed a Commercial and Productive Integration Framework Agreement that will facilitate bilateral trade, promote regulatory harmonization and bring more security to companies. We also signed a memorandum that will strengthen financial cooperation around agendas of common interest for both countries. Regarding the negotiations between Mercosur and the Republic of Korea, we discussed ways to resume the interrupted negotiations in 2021.”
One area in which there will be great collaboration between Korea and Brazil is health.
“In the health area, the instruments cover the production of medicines and vaccines, research into the diagnosis of communicable diseases and chronic diseases, as well as advanced genomics and digital health”, stated the Brazilian president.
