Brazil + Russia + India + China = BRIC Countries
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev just got another stamp in his passport after making the first visit by a Russian president ever to Argentina. President Medvedev was received by his Argentinian counterpart, Cristina Kirchner. 2010 marks 125 years since the Russia and Argentina first established diplomatic relations. The focus of the visit involved boosting trade between the nations as well as energy cooperation. Can you guess Argentina’s #1 export to Russia? That’s right, beef! As a matter of fact, Russians consume so much Argentinean beef that they now maintain a substantial trade deficit with Argentina. It seems that caviar is not so big in Argentina.
While Argentina leads in the area of export, they are looking to Russia for its energy needs. Russia has expertise in hydroelectric energy equipment and Argentina and Russia seem eager to cooperate within the oil sector. There has been a marked improvement in relations between Russia and Argentina in recent years, dating back to 2008 when the two countries agreed to waive visa requirements for travel between the two countries.
With an expressed interest in cultivating global ties, Medvedev will continue to add stamps to his passport as he is on to Brazil, to participate in the second summit of the BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India, and China. At this rate, Medvedev will need to add some pages to his passport soon.
Tags: Argentina, Brazil visa, BRIC countries, China visa, India visa, Russia visa