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Korea and Brazil Seek Practical Ways to Bolster Cooperation

The Korea Foundation and Brazil’s Ministry of External Relations co-organized the 5th Korea-Brazil Forum, which was conducted in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil (September 2-3, 2010). Participants from Korea and Brazil gathered to discuss Korea’s economic development and education system, as well as bilateral cooperation in the areas of science, technology, and agriculture.



The recent Korea-Brazil Forum was held in a provincial city, unlike previous gatherings undertaken in the capital city of Brasilia or Rio de Janeiro. In an effort to promote a vision of bilateral cooperation in provincial areas, the 5th Korea-Brazil Forum was especially meaningful. Within the Brazilian state of Ceará, the residents have a positive image of Korea due to the local investment made by Dongkuk Steel, a Korean steelmaker, which was evident from the warm welcome extended to the Korean delegation.

Encouraging Results
The Korean side was comprised of 20 leading figures, including Won Hye Young, National Assembly Member and Chairperson of the Korea-Brazil Parliamentary Friendship Society; Choi Kyung-lim, Korean Ambassador to Brazil; Shin Yeon-sung, Korean Ambassador for Climate Change; and Ku Hui-gwon, Senior Advisor to the Foreign Affairs and Trade and Unification Committee, National Assembly.
The Brazilian delegation, of about 50 prominent figures, included Ambassador Jeronimo Moscardo, President of the Alexandre de Gusmao Foundation (FUNAG) affiliated with the Ministry of External Relations; Vejera, Vice Governor of Ceará; and Edumundo Fujita, Brazilian Ambassador to Korea. The discussion agenda focused on working-level issues related to bilateral cooperation, science, technology, innovation, academic exchange, investment, trade, and economic cooperation. In particular, the participants emphasized the importance of two-way cooperation in science and technology, including the IT, semiconductor, nanotechnology, aerospace, renewable energy, and smart grid sectors, as well as bilateral trade and investment.
The most significant result of this year’s Korea-Brazil Forum was the Brazilian side’s agreement to participate in the forum on a continuous basis. They had originally agreed with the Foundation to participate in the forum for a five-year period. Brazil thus expressed its intention to utilize the forum as a regular event to facilitate bilateral dialogue in every field, including matters related to politics, the economy, trade, society, culture, education, science, and technology.
The forum served as an opportunity to present an overview of Korea’s economic development and its commitment to education. The head of the Brazilian delegation highly praised Korea’s remarkable development and its enhanced global status as a “new paradigm,” along with hoping that the State of Ceará, the forum host, could learn lessons from Korea for the promotion of its provincial development. A Brazilian speaker proposed a “2+2” cooperation program that called for matching efforts by the research institutions and private enterprises of both countries. In addition, a Korean participant expressed a desire for Korean shipbuilders to submit bids for the supply of Brazil’s naval vessels, based on the expertise of Korea’s shipbuilding, IT, and defense industries. It was also noteworthy that FUNAG announced it would allocate 30,000 Brazilian real (about $17,000) for research on Korea, along with pledging to organize a program for the exchange of professors, in an immediate response to a Korean speaker’s proposal to strengthen media and university exchange efforts, and to work on the development of cultural centers in both countries.

Green Growth Initiatives
As for the discussion of aerospace cooperation, the Korean side proposed efforts related to the exchange of experts in aerospace technology, calibration and validation of each other’s satellite projects, utilization of CBERS satellite data, and joint development of micro-satellites. The Brazilian participants called for cooperative efforts to utilize the launch site that Korea has employed in the Ukraine, develop a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, in response to Brazil’s often-cloudy atmosphere, and develop a ground sensor to track a satellite in geostationary orbit.
Efforts to promote agricultural cooperation between Korea and Brazil have been underway since 2005. Related to this, joint research is being undertaken to produce first- and second-generation bio-energy and to value-added crops through the exchange of genetic resources between Korea’s Rural Development Administration and Brazil’s Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). The Korean side also suggested cooperation in solar-energy technology which Brazil found to be highly promising due to the country’s low level of solar energy utilization, in spite of its abundance of solar energy resources.
Korea and Brazil are also highly active in the efforts to promote green growth initiatives. The Korean participants called on Brazil to gain membership in the recently established Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and to support Korea’s efforts to host the 2012 Conference of the Parties (COP-18), under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference. Close attention is being paid to Brazil’s response since it is seeking to organize a conference to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rio Conference in 2012 as well. Of note, former Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Sergio Serra is overseeing Brazil’s climate change activities, so it is expected that there will be close cooperation between the two countries in this regard. In addition, cooperation between Brazil and Korea is poised for noticeable enhancement depending on the bid results for the high-speed railway line between Sao Paulo and Rio, for which Korean groups have submitted bids.
It was also decided that the next Korea-Brazil Forum will be held in Korea in the latter half of 2011. Expectations are high about the release of the vision statement for Korea-Brazil bilateral cooperation, which is scheduled for November, and the follow-up measures to pursue areas of significant potential, including the areas of science, technology, industry, and education.

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