Lula Heads to India and South Korea With AI, Rare Earths and a Point to Prove

The itinerary reads like a syllabus for 21st-century diplomacy: artificial intelligence governance in New Delhi, rare earth negotiations with the world’s most populous country, then a strategic upgrade with Asia’s fourth-largest economy in Seoul. Lula departs Brasília on Tuesday for a seven-day tour that amounts to a pointed message — Brazil intends to be at the table where the rules of the technological future are being written. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Brazil politics and Latin American financial news.

The India leg carries the heaviest geopolitical weight. On February 19, Lula joins the AI Impact Summit — a five-day gathering at Bharat Mandapam drawing over 20 heads of state and tech titans from OpenAI, Google and Microsoft. His message will center on ensuring developing nations are not locked out of the AI revolution the way they were sidelined in the nuclear age. Brazil and Japan are co-chairing a working group on safe AI, and Brasília is organizing a parallel event titled “AI for the Good of All” to showcase Brazilian perspectives on digital governance.

Lula Chases Strategic Partnerships Abroad

But the real diplomatic prize comes February 21, when Lula holds bilateral talks with Modi. The two leaders are expected to sign at least ten agreements spanning digital infrastructure, defense, health and a critical minerals pact that places Brazil’s vast rare earth reserves at the center of a Global South supply chain — on Brasília’s terms, not Washington’s. Bilateral trade hit a record $15 billion (~R$87 billion) in 2025, up over 25% year-on-year, and both countries have set a target of $20 billion (~R$116 billion) by 2030. Over 300 Brazilian companies will attend the Brazil-India Business Forum.

From New Delhi, Lula flies to Seoul for what the foreign ministry calls his first-ever state visit to South Korea. He meets President Lee Jae Myung — a former factory worker with a political trajectory that mirrors Lula’s own — to sign a Triennial Action Plan for 2026-2029 that upgrades the relationship from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic one. The target: a new cycle of Korean investment in Brazilian tech, agriculture and cosmetics, areas where Seoul’s capital meets Brasília’s scale. A business forum will bring 230 Brazilian firms to the table. If the India stop is about shaping global rules, the Seoul stop is about turning them into contracts.

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