Seoul, February 23 (QNA) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed to elevate bilateral ties during their summit Monday and expand bilateral cooperation in the economy, space, the defense industry, critical minerals and other areas.
During the summit, the two leaders agreed to elevate the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and adopted a four-year action plan to boost politics, the economy, practical cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.
"I and President Lula shared the consensus that the two countries should expand mutually beneficial economic cooperation," Lee said in a joint press announcement.
آ  Lee said he explained the need to promptly resume negotiations for a trade agreement between South Korea and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) that includes Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, and Lula shared the consensus that the trade pact is an "urgent task."
South Korea launched free trade talks with the South American trade bloc in 2018 but has made little progress on key market opening issues.
To promote practical cooperation, the two nations signed 10 memoranda of understanding covering trade and investment, science and technology, agriculture, health care, small and medium-sized enterprises, food and security.
Under the agreements, the foreign and industry ministries of the two nations agreed to launch a high-level economic and trade committee to discuss ways to facilitate cooperation in trade and investment, agriculture, energy and artificial intelligence, among other areas.
The two countries' finance ministries also agreed to establish a vice-ministerial economic and financial dialogue to coordinate macroeconomic policy and cooperation at the multilateral level.
Lee said he hopes the agreements will establish a framework for cooperation in industry, health care and agriculture, while expanding collaboration in future industries, including space, the defense industry and aerospace.
South Korean president pointed to space as one of the promising sectors for cooperation after South Korea's first commercial orbital rocket, the Hanbit-Nano, attempted its first launch at the Alcantara Space Center in northeastern Brazil in December, expressing hope for success on the next try.
He also underscored the need to deepen defense industry cooperation. In 2023, South Korea selected Embraer's C-390 military transport aircraft, with Korean parts makers involved in the program.
During the talks, Lula highlighted Brazil's abundant natural resources and expressed hope of attracting Korean investment in critical minerals and expanding industrial cooperation in semiconductors, aerospace and the defense industry.
The Brazilian president also said the two nations need to discuss the green industry and energy transition, calling for South Korea's participation in a global fund to preserve tropical rainforests that Brazil launched last year.
In addition, the two leaders held discussions on international and regional issues as Lee explained Seoul's efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. (QNA)