South Korean and Brazilian business communities on Monday proposed measures to strengthen cooperation in strategic areas, including advanced manufacturing and key minerals, at a bilateral business forum held in Seoul, industry officials said.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency presented such proposals at the Korea-Brazil Business Forum, held on the occasion of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's three-day state visit to South Korea, reports Yonhap new agency.

"Brazil is a resource powerhouse with competitiveness in food, energy and aerospace and has strategic significance in global supply chains," FKI Chairman Ryu Jin said during the event.

"Korea and Brazil should move beyond trade-centred cooperation and toward a new era of shared prosperity based on investment and industrial collaboration," he added.

During the event, the business communities of the two countries presented Lula with measures for expanding bilateral economic cooperation in three core areas, namely lifestyle, agriculture and advanced manufacturing.

The two sides also discussed enhancing cultural ties by building on the strong popularity of Korean entertainment in South America, along with potential opportunities to link Brazil's rich cosmetic raw materials with South Korea's beauty ecosystem.

In terms of agriculture, business officials shared ideas on utilizing Brazil's food production capacity alongside South Korean firms' competitiveness in processing, distribution and branding.

"Participants discussed measures to combine Brazil's resource strengths with Korea's manufacturing competitiveness to expand cooperation from traditional manufacturing into advanced industries," the FKI added, noting the two countries also explored potential ties in the artificial intelligence (AI) and strategic mineral sectors.

Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1959, Brazil has become South Korea's largest trading partner in South America.

Around 300 Brazilian business officials joined Lula's first state visit to Asia's No. 4 economy in 21 years, said the report.