S. Korean, Brazilian firms call for closer ties in manufacturing, key minerals
Seoul, Feb 23
South Korean and Brazilian business communities on Monday proposed measures to strengthen cooperation in strategic areas, including advanced manufacturing and key minerals, at a bilateral business forum held in Seoul, industry officials said.
The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency presented such proposals at the Korea-Brazil Business Forum, held on the occasion of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's three-day state visit to South Korea, reports Yonhap new agency.
"Brazil is a resource powerhouse with competitiveness in food, energy and aerospace and has strategic significance in global supply chains," FKI Chairman Ryu Jin said during the event.
"Korea and Brazil should move beyond trade-centred cooperation and toward a new era of shared prosperity based on investment and industrial collaboration," he added.
During the event, the business communities of the two countries presented Lula with measures for expanding bilateral economic cooperation in three core areas, namely lifestyle, agriculture and advanced manufacturing.
The two sides also discussed enhancing cultural ties by building on the strong popularity of Korean entertainment in South America, along with potential opportunities to link Brazil's rich cosmetic raw materials with South Korea's beauty ecosystem.
In terms of agriculture, business officials shared ideas on utilizing Brazil's food production capacity alongside South Korean firms' competitiveness in processing, distribution and branding.
"Participants discussed measures to combine Brazil's resource strengths with Korea's manufacturing competitiveness to expand cooperation from traditional manufacturing into advanced industries," the FKI added, noting the two countries also explored potential ties in the artificial intelligence (AI) and strategic mineral sectors.
Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1959, Brazil has become South Korea's largest trading partner in South America.
Around 300 Brazilian business officials joined Lula's first state visit to Asia's No. 4 economy in 21 years, said the report.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Interesting to see the mention of linking Brazil's cosmetic raw materials with Korea's beauty ecosystem. The K-beauty wave is huge! India has amazing Ayurvedic and natural ingredients - we need to build our own global beauty brands with that kind of strategic thinking. 🇮🇳
While this Korea-Brazil partnership is good for them, it's a reminder that India needs to step up its game in securing key mineral partnerships. We are too dependent on a few countries. Our diplomats and business leaders should be more proactive in Latin America and Africa.
The cultural tie-in with K-pop and K-dramas is genius soft power. Brazil loves it, and it opens doors for everything else. India has Bollywood and yoga which are popular worldwide - we should leverage that more strategically for trade and diplomacy, not just for tourism.
"Moving beyond trade-centred cooperation" is the key phrase here. True partnerships are built on shared technology, investment, and industrial collaboration. Hope Indian businesses are watching and learning. We have strong ties with Brazil in the BRICS context, but need more concrete commercial projects.
With all due respect to this new partnership, I sometimes feel our own Indian media gives more coverage to deals between other countries than to our own similar efforts. The India-MERCOSUR trade agreement needs more push and publicity. Our focus should be inward on executing our own strategies better.
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