Korea and Brazil Adopt "Four-Year Action Plan," Agree on Need to Resume Trade Agreement

Adopted at the Korea?Brazil summit

Upgraded to a "strategic partnership" for the first time in 67 years

Korean technical inspection team to be dispatched to facilitate market access for Brazilian beef

Expanded trade through cooperation on critical minerals, AI, supply chains, and SPS

On the 23rd, President Lee Jaemyung and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held a summit at the Blue House and agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to a "strategic partnership," while also adopting a "Four-Year Action Plan" for 2026-2029 to implement the strategic partnership.

Yonhap News

The newly adopted action plan consists of five areas: political dialogue and people-to-people exchanges; economy, finance, trade, and investment; energy, environment, and decarbonization; science, technology, and innovation; and culture and education cooperation. The document reaffirms respect for the principles of the UN Charter and international law, the protection of human rights, and the importance of democracy, and sets out the direction of expanding cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral fora. The action plan is a non-legally-binding document that does not impose obligations, and will be implemented within the scope of available financial and human resources in accordance with each country’s domestic laws and regulations.

Annual vice-ministerial consultative body and youth working holiday... Institutionalizing political and people-to-people exchanges

In the political field, the plan includes the annual convening of the vice foreign minister-level "Korea-Brazil High-Level Policy Consultation," the expansion of dialogue between policy planning departments, and the promotion of exchanges between lawmakers, including parliamentary friendship groups. It also lists as cooperation tasks the reactivation of cooperation on diplomatic training and the promotion of youth participation in working holiday programs based on the memorandum of understanding to be concluded in 2025.

The plan also calls for expanding technical cooperation on eradicating hunger and poverty and on food and nutrition security, as well as strengthening coordination in international platforms such as the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC) and the Busan Global Partnership Forum to advance effective development cooperation.

Signing of a "Trade and Production Integration Arrangement"... Cooperation on critical minerals, AI, supply chains, and SPS

In the economic and trade field, the two sides agreed, on the occasion of the summit, to sign a "Trade and Production Integration Arrangement" and to deepen cooperation in the digital economy, including industry, agriculture, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI); to strengthen supply chain resilience by systematically identifying key items; to enhance transparency and efficiency in regulatory procedures; and to expand trade by strengthening cooperation on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and agriculture.

The action plan includes tasks such as: cooperation on circular economy and greenhouse gas reduction technologies; support for small and medium-sized enterprises in using digital tools; expanding cooperation in health care, including defense industry and medical devices; revitalizing tourism exchanges (launching dialogue between the Korea Tourism Organization and Brazilian tourism authorities); and cooperation in media- and streaming-based creative industries, including dramas, music, films, and games.

In the agriculture and food security field, the plan calls for strengthening cooperation on smart farms and SPS, developing stable agricultural supply chains, and cooperating to simplify procedures for pesticide registration and licensing. In particular, with respect to market access for Brazilian beef, the document specifies a shared understanding on promptly implementing the steps necessary to advance the risk assessment procedure, starting with the dispatch of a Korean technical inspection team. It also states that efforts will continue to expand access for Brazilian pork beyond Santa Catarina State to other regions.

The two sides also recognized the need to resume negotiations on a trade agreement between Korea and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and included as tasks the discussion of and promotion of cooperation on potential barriers such as sustainability standards, carbon accounting methodologies, certification systems, and regulatory transparency.

Yonhap News Agency

Climate partnership, biofuels, and hydrogen... Sharing experience on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

In the energy, environment, and decarbonization field, the plan proposes establishing a structured partnership for climate action; laying the groundwork for consultations on joint exploration, development, and processing of strategic minerals; cooperation on the bioeconomy; and expanding cooperation on sustainable fuels such as biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and hydrogen.

It also includes cooperation on industrial decarbonization; low-carbon shipping alternatives and sustainable marine fuels; and climate response using AI and digital public infrastructure. In addition, the document specifies sharing experiences related to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, including the use of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs); strengthening mitigation actions such as forest restoration and coastal and marine ecosystem management; exchanging views on green finance; and exploring innovative financing models such as a so-called "Tropical Rainforest Permanent Fund" (tentative name).

Science and technology joint committee every two years... Sirius accelerator, space cooperation, and bio partnerships

Yonhap News Agency

In the science, technology, and innovation field, the two sides agreed to work toward convening a joint committee on science and technology in 2026 and holding follow-up meetings every two years thereafter. The plan encourages joint research using Brazil’s advanced research infrastructure, including the Sirius synchrotron light source; calls for expanding cooperation focused on clean technologies and sustainable industrial processes; seeks to enhance dialogue between space and aerospace agencies and expand private-sector cooperation; and includes discussions on partnerships and regulatory harmonization in the pharmaceutical, bio, and cosmetics industries.

In the culture and education field, the plan includes encouraging participation in each other’s cultural events; supporting the spread of Korean and Portuguese language education; cooperation between museums and national archives; and cooperation on addressing the climate crisis and protecting cultural heritage. It also covers cooperation on co-producing visual and music content, discussions on a protocol for cooperation in the gaming sector, and discussions on copyrights and related rights in the digital environment, including AI. Alongside expanding student exchange and scholarship programs, the two sides will also promote education cooperation focused on digital transformation, including national education information systems, digital learning platforms, and educational artificial intelligence (AI).

Based on this four-year action plan, the two leaders signed 10 documents listed in the annex during a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and arrangement signing ceremony held at the main building of the Blue House on the same day. These included the Trade and Production Integration Arrangement; an MOU on economic and financial dialogue; MOUs on cooperation in science and technology, agriculture, and health; an MOU on cooperation on small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship; an MOU on regulatory cooperation for health-related products; a cooperation document between the Rural Development Administration (RDA) and Brazilian institutions; and an MOU on police cooperation.