Russia has long-term strategic interests in Latin America, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said on Monday.
Borisov told the Russia-Latin America business forum that trade and economic cooperation with Cuba is of special importance. “Major investments go to the biggest infrastructure projects. It is not about a striving to receive immediate profits, it is about partner projects for years and decades. They will determine Cuba’s economy in the decades to come,” he noted.
Touching on Russia’s relations with Latin American countries, Borisov noted that Latina America is not an arena for economic battles for Russia and lauded Latin Americans for “not bending under the West’s pressure.”
Trade turnover between Russia and Latin American countries reached $14.5 bln in 2017 and has a potential to grow, Borisov continued.
“Latin America is of particular importance for us in the economic sphere. The Russian-Latin American trade turnover that reached $14.5 bln as of 2017 year-end and obviously has considerable potential for growth,” Borisov said.
Latin American nations firmly took the landmark place in the system of foreign economic relations of the Russian Federation, the official noted.
“Besides, our trade and economic relations are still exposed to the impact of adverse external factor of the international markets situation. Diversification of the trade turnover range, search for new spheres and forms of cooperation and transition to long-term models of interaction are in common interests. We need to maximize use of competitive advantages of our economies and their complementarity,” Borisov said.
Russia is ready to offer “advanced developments and modern technologies in such sphere as energy, including nuclear energy, heavy machine-building, aviation and helicopter industries, bio-pharmacy, telecommunications and space,” he added.