[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung, currently on a tour of the United States and South America, has made a state visit to Brazil. President Lee and Brazilian President Lula da Silva are reported to discuss bilateral cooperation measures, including supply chain cooperation for critical minerals, during their summit.

Reporting from Brasília, this is Kang Cheongwan.

[Reporter]

President Lee Jae-myung arrives in the Brazilian capital of Brasília, where an honor guard greets him with trumpet performances.

Visiting Brazil as a state guest for the first time in 11 years as a South Korean president, President Lee addressed domestic issues on his first day, connecting via video link to the presidential office from Brazil to deal with domestic concerns such as high oil prices.

[President Lee Jae-myung: Please maintain the ceiling on oil prices until oil price instability is fully resolved, and keep policy measures such as fuel tax cuts in place to the maximum extent possible.]

He also emphasized the importance of his first South American summit diplomacy since taking office.

[President Lee Jae-myung: South America is a region with a massive population and abundant resources, making it one of the most essential areas for further broadening the horizons of our diplomacy.]

President Lee arrived at the presidential palace in Brazil a short while ago and began his summit with President Lula.

Discussions reportedly covered not only supply chain cooperation with Brazil—which holds the world's second-largest reserves of rare earths—but also economic, cultural, and security fields, including a free trade agreement.

Following the summit, a signing ceremony for memoranda of understanding between the two countries and a joint press briefing will follow.

President Lula previously made a state visit to South Korea in February last year, at which time President Lee presented him with a copy of "A Single Spark: The Biography of Jeon Tae-il."

[President Lee Jae-myung (February 23 of last year): There are many striking similarities between your personal life history and mine.]

As the two leaders have shared common ground on various international stages based on their shared backgrounds as former child laborers, in-depth discussions regarding bilateral cooperation are expected.

(Camera: Jeong Sang-bo, Video Editing: Lee Seung-hee)