Source: Government of the Republic of Korea
Your Excellency President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,
I am pleased we could discuss the future of the Republic of Kora and Brazil.
As President Lula mentioned, we share a special experience. Just as he lost a finger on his left hand, I, too, was injured while working in a factory as a child and now live with a disability.
Yet that disability has never been an obstacle to my life or my service to others.
Rather, it has constantly reminded me of my responsibility to keep more people in mind and to help ensure that more people can lead better lives.
Tomorrow, when I visit São Paulo, I plan to visit the Metalworkers’ Union office where President Lula worked when he was younger. There, I hope to reflect once again on his dream—a dream rooted in his commitment to never forget the realities of working people and to work tirelessly to help everyone enjoy a better life.
I hope that President Lula and I will remain true to our roots as workers and continue working together to help more and more people live better lives.
I hope that the Republic of Korea and Brazil will continue moving forward together, building societies where all our people can live happier lives.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for the warm welcome extended to me and my delegation here at the beautiful Alvorada Palace.
As president Lula kindly mentioned, I am the fourth foreign leader to be welcomed here, following President Xi Jinping, Prime Minster Narendra Modi, and President Jacques Chirac. It is a great honor, and I am deeply grateful.
Following President Lula’s historic state visit to Korea last February, I am truly pleased to be making this state visit to Brazil – the first by a President of the Republic of Korea to Brazil in eleven years.
On behalf of the Korean people, I once again extend my sincere gratitude to President Lula and the people of Brazil for their warm hospitality.
Brazil, the world’s eleventh-largest economy and a key pillar of global supply chains and food security, is expanding its role and strategic importance in the international community.
At our summit today, President Lula and I declared that 2026 will mark the beginning of a new chapter forward in the Korea–Brazil Strategic Partnership. Building upon the Action Plan 2026-2029 adopted last February, we also issued a joint statement setting out a concrete vision for the future of our bilateral cooperation.
Today’s summit delivered meaningful outcomes across five areas. I would like to outline them one by one.
First, we agreed to reinforce our economic cooperation, which serves as a key driver of our bilateral relations.
The Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation – a high-level platform for advancing cooperation in industry and trade – was convened ahead of this summit. It will serve to help our two countries expand cooperation beyond trade and investment into future-oriented industries, including defense, aerospace, critical minerals and the digital economy.
The Memorandum of Understanding on Industrial Technology Cooperation, signed today, will provide an important foundation for enhancing the industrial competitiveness of both countries.
As President Lula noted, we agreed to establish a direct channel for advancing our bilateral relations, with the Vice President of Brazil and the Director of National Policy at the Presidential office of the Republic of Korea serving as key pillars. Through this channel, we will deepen cooperation and exchange across all areas, including the economy, industry, security, and culture, where there is considerable room for growth. We will, of course, also move forward with this process as swiftly as possible.
Second, we agreed to strengthen our strategic cooperation in resources and energy in order to diversify our supply chains.
As we all know, Brazil is home to some of the world’s largest critical minerals reserves. At today’s summit, President Lula and I shared the view that it is important to expand cooperation between our companies and institutions across the entire value chain of critical minerals supply chains.
Going forward, we agreed to further strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation based on the respective strengths of our two countries through follow-up consultations among relevant institutions, and to establishing a stable foundation for Korean companies to secure a reliable supply of raw minerals.
We also signed the MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Energy, which will help us broaden our collaboration in clean energy and the energy transition.
Third, we agreed to create new growth engines by expanding cooperation in advanced and emerging industries.
Our two countries agreed to launch a Defense Industry Joint Committee in the second half of this year. We also plan to pursue a General Security of Military Information Agreement, which will generate new opportunities for cooperation in defense and the defense industry.
Notably, the integration of components manufactured by Korean companies into Brazil’s C-390 military transport aircraft, which the Republic of Korea Air Force is scheduled to introduce in the second half of this year, stands as a symbolic example of defense industry cooperation between our two countries. We agreed to further advance such cooperation and explore new partnerships in future air mobility by leveraging our respective strengths.
Given Brazil’s leading position in Latin America’s defense industry, I would greatly appreciate your special interest and support, so that Korea’s diverse defense systems – whose outstanding performance has been proven – can be recognized in Brazil as well.
We also agreed to expand cooperation in aerospace and the space sector. The MOU on regarding Cooperation in the Peaceful Exploration and Use of Outer Space will streamline procedures for commercial launches and broaden our cooperation across the general space sector, including satellite data sharing and space exploration. It will play a key role in enabling our two countries to jointly open a new chapter in the future space era.
As President Lula said, I am confident that the September launch will be a success. I hope to be here in person, but if not, I will be sure to watch it via video.
Moreover, we agreed to work together to make cooperation with Korean semiconductor companies a model of mutually beneficial partnership – strengthening Brazil’s industrial competitiveness while providing Korean businesses with a stable production base.
Fourth, we agreed to further expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges, which works to connect the hearts of our two peoples closer.
Brazil has the largest Korean community in Latin America, and the number of Brazilian visitors to Korea reached an all-time high last year. To further promote cultural understanding and exchanges between our peoples, we have established institutional frameworks for cooperation across a wide range of fields.
The MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Film, the MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Sports and the Memorandum of Cooperation in the Field of Education, all signed today, will provide new momentum for expanding exchanges between our future generations.
Furthermore, in response to Brazil’s growing enthusiasm for K-culture, we agreed to work together to further promote K-beauty and K-food, while also contributing to improve the well-being and quality of life of the Brazilian people.
Fifth, we agreed to strengthen our strategic coordination in the international community.
We two leaders reaffirmed our shared understanding on major global issues, including international peace and security, peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, and responses to artificial intelligence and climate change. Together with like-minded countries, we will strengthen cooperation both within and beyond our respective regions.
I once again shared with President Lula our government’s unwavering conviction that the surest and robust kind of security rests not on winning conflicts, but on fostering genuine peace. President Lula also expressed his full support for this vision.
Brazil has played a leading role in maintaining Latin America free of nuclear weapons and has consistently advocated for a world without nuclear arms and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. I once again express my gratitude to President Lula and the Brazilian government for their firm support reaffirmed at today’s summit, for our government’s efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and establish an enduring peace.
Finally, we reached a profound consensus that, especially in this era of growing trade uncertainty, a trade agreement between Korea and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) is a crucial task that can no longer be postponed.
I am confident that the Korea–MERCOSUR Trade Agreement will expand opportunities for Korean companies to enter MERCOSUR, while providing Brazilian businesses with new opportunities to access the Asian market, with Korea serving as a gateway.
This agreement will expand the scope of our cooperation to encompass not just trade but also diverse fields as high-tech industries, supply chains, and the digital and green economies. In doing so, it will serve as a solid foundation for our two countries to grow together as true strategic partners.
Distinguished guests,
Today’s cooperative efforts will create new opportunities for the young people of our two countries, open new markets for our businesses, and contribute to improving the lives of our peoples.
As they say here in Brazil, “A união faz a força.” Indeed, “Unity is strength.”
When our two countries combine our respective strengths, the vast ocean that separates us will no longer be a barrier. Instead, it will be a space of possibility where new opportunities are created.
Once again, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to President Lula and the people of Brazil for their warm hospitality and for the deep affection they have shown toward the people of the Republic of Korea.
Muito obrigado!
Thank you!