1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korea-Brazil Society (KOBRAS), and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) will hold the “9th ROK-Brazil Business Forum” at the Walkerhill Hotel at 9:00~12:40, October 21.

o The forum will be attended by officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure of Brazil and the state agency of Invest São Paulo, and feature opening remarks by Chairman of KOBRAS Choi Shin-won, welcoming remarks by Director-General for Latin American and Caribbean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hwang Kyung-tae and Director of the Center for Regional Economic Studies of KIEP Cho Choong-jae, and congratulatory remarks by Ambassador to Brazil Kim Chan-woo and Brazilian Ambassador to the ROK Luís Lopes.

2. At the ROK-Brazil business forum, Brazilian government officials will explain in person Brazil’s economic situation and infrastructure projects to Korean companies.

o In his keynote address, Brazilian Minister of Infrastructure Tarcísio Freitas will introduce his country’s infrastructure projects including airport, port, and railway projects, as well as privatization project. Head of Institutional Relations of the Ministry of Infrastructure Helder Gonzales will explain in detail opportunities and ways to enter Brazil’s infrastructure sector. In addition, President of the Invest São Paulo Wilson Mello will make presentations on risks and prospects for the Brazilian economy in the post-COVID-19 era.

o Furthermore, domestic and foreign experts in each field will make presentations on the Brazilian economic outlook, constraints in entering Brazil’s infrastructure market and ways to improve them, the ROK-Brazil health and medical cooperation, and research, development, and innovation in the health sector, and have a Q&A session afterwards.

3. The ROK-Brazil Business Forum, which is the 9th meeting this year, is a public-private track-1.5 consultative platform created in 2012 to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries. The forum has established itself as the largest and most important annual event for exchanges and information sharing between the business circles of the two countries.

o As this year marks the beginning of the next 60 years following the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the ROK and Brazil last year, the forum was originally planned to be held, with Brazilian government officials and business people in attendance, but it has been changed to a virtual and in-person hybrid format due to the COVID-19 situation.

o Korean-Portuguese simultaneous interpretation will be provided for all presentations and questions. Companies, individuals, and organizations willing to participate in the forum can send an application to the e-mail address (admin@kobras.or.kr) and access it via a link to the webinar.

4. As the world is experiencing difficulties due to the global economic downturn, declining trade, the suspension of people-to-people and material exchanges, and the spread of protectionism amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foreign Ministry hopes that the forum would revitalize the two countries’ economies by exploring an opportunity for infrastructure and health cooperation with Brazil, the biggest market in Latin America.