The leaders of South Korea and Brazil have agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership on the occasion of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s state visit.

The two presidents reached the decision Monday during a summit in Seoul.

President Lee Jae Myung said in his opening remarks that the two sides intend to institutionalize cooperation in the areas of food security, small and midsize enterprises, science and technology, health care, critical minerals, the energy transition, the environment, space and culture.

Lee welcomed the adoption of a four-year action plan as a concrete blueprint for the implementation of the strategic partnership and said he looks forward to seeing the two countries expand economic cooperation further by leveraging mutual complementarities and the respective potential of each side. 

The South Korean leader said the two countries have built a deep friendship over many years and that Brazil is the country’s largest trading partner and its No. 1 investment destination in South America, with approximately 120 South Korean firms operating there.

Lee credited his Brazilian counterpart for leading efforts to forge the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership in 2004, during his first term in office.

Lula, for his part, called for stronger cooperation in critical minerals, semiconductors, green hydrogen, pharmaceuticals and aerospace, and for extensive discussions focused on the defense industry, the energy transition and decarbonization.

The Brazilian leader also expressed hope of attracting investment from South Korean businesses in his country’s critical minerals.

It is the first state visit by a Brazilian president since 2005, when Lula traveled here during his first term.