President Lee Jae Myung (left) and Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast on July 30 hold a small-group meeting at the presidential office La Moneda Palace in Santiago, Chile. (Cheong Wa Dae)

By Hong Angie

President Lee Jae Myung has agreed with Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast on a comprehensive plan for bilateral cooperation focused on modernizing their free trade agreement and reinforcing supply chains for critical minerals.

They announced this after their bilateral summit on July 30 at the presidential palace in the Latin American country's capital of Santiago, with President Lee being the first Korean head of state to visit Chile in 11 years.

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung in a written briefing on July 31 said both sides also agreed to resume high-level exchanges and inject new momentum into their strategic partnership.

During the summit, President Lee highlighted the uniqueness of bilateral ties, saying Chile was the first South American country to recognize the Republic of Korea in 1949 and the latter's first free trade partner.

President Kast, in response, praised Korea's rapid economic development and technological capabilities, adding that he hoped for more cooperation in future industries including digital transformation.

Given disruptions in global supply chains and rising protectionism, the two leaders agreed to raise pragmatic cooperation in trade and investment, critical minerals, infrastructure and the defense industry. They also pledged to modernize their free trade deal, which took effect 20 years ago, to reflect changes in the global economic environment like digital trade, artificial intelligence (AI) and supply chains.

As part of this effort, they agreed to resume their ministerial-level free trade committee, which had been suspended since 2016, for the first time in a decade.

Five memorandums of understanding (MOUs), including one on a mineral resources partnership between Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Chile's Ministry of Mining, were signed to ensure a stable supply of critical minerals. Chile has the world's highest reserves of copper and second most of lithium.

More than just resource development, the MOUs cover the entire value chain for such minerals including information sharing, personnel exchanges, joint geological surveys and exploration, processing and smelting, and recycling.

In addition, the two sides agreed to elevate their vice ministerial-level resource cooperation committee to the ministerial level and hold regular meetings, as well as creating a working-level channel at the director-general level under the committee to continue practical cooperation.

In science and technology, they will expand collaboration in sharing AI policies, conducting astronomical research in the Atacama Desert and developing Antarctic research infrastructure.

President Lee Jae Myung (left) on July 30 speaks at a joint news conference with Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast at the presidential office La Moneda Palace in Santiago, Chile. (Yonhap News)

Following the summit, President Lee attended a business roundtable at a downtown Santiago hotel, where he spoke to about 30 leading executives from both countries on expanding economic cooperation in future growth industries.

In his keynote speech, he called Chile, a leading producer of lithium and copper, and Korea, which has competitive strengths in advanced manufacturing industries such as batteries, semiconductors and AI, ideal partners for achieving shared growth, urging expanded "win-win" bilateral cooperation in business.

The attending executives discussed a range of specific initiatives including LS Group's joint venture with a Chilean state-owned company, Hanwha Group's partnerships in the defense industry and shipbuilding, Naver's AI ecosystem initiatives, and expansion by small and medium businesses of distribution networks for Korean food and beauty products in the Chilean market.

As both countries border the Pacific Ocean, Korea and Chile also pledged to work together to ensure success in the fourth United Nations Ocean Conference, which they will co-host in 2028. They will also expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges centered on Korean culture and support the safety and settlement of Korean expats in Chile.

shong9412@korea.kr