Argentine Foreign Minister visits Russia

Mercosur countries believe super-powers of the future will be China, India and Russia, therefore, Brazil and Argentina leaders speed up trade negotiations with the three nations. Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa arrives in Moscow on Wednesday with 50 top local businessmen.

As talks on free trade deals with the US and the European Union have been in a long impasse for months, Mercosur countries with Brazil and Argentina at the head, are speeding up contacts with what they think will be the super-powers of the future: China, India and Russia. Brazil president visited China a month ago, as Beijing will welcome the second State visit of an Argentine president in less than three years. Also on Wednesday, Argentine Foreign Minister, Rafael Bielsa, will arrive in Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, carrying on a personal letter from Argentine Head of State Nestor Kirchner to visit Buenos Aires soon.

Argentine delegation in Moscow will include local FM top officials and 50 top businessmen, including the president of the Russo-Argentine Forum, Carlos Bulgheroni, an oil & gas businessman with interests in Central Asia. Argentine FM confirmed in a statement that the visit is intended to keep the permanent political consultations held in the last 10 months and to promote commercial agreements to boost poor trade records.

Sources confirmed that during the meeting Bielsa will hold with his Russian counterpart, Serguei Lavrov, both foreign ministers will discuss issues related to the political situation in both countries, cooperation in sciences and trade. It is also expected that both diplomats will discuss the situation in Iraq and in Latin America, as well as eventual changes to the United Nations chart.

Bielsa’s official visit to Moscow came six months after former Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, visited Buenos Aires as part of a round tour in Latin America. President Vladimir Putin, who has recently visited Mexico, will take part of OPEC’s annual meeting in Chile on November.

During the visit, the Argentine government will acknowledge Russian chess player, Anatoly Karpov, Russian businessman, Ara Abramian and the dancer Igor Moiseyev. Minister Bielsa will leave Moscow for Beijing on Thursday where he will meet Argentine president Nestor Kirchner, paying the second Sate visit of an Argentine leader to China in less than three years.