Brazil Russia aim to double bilateral trade

Brazil and Russia signed a series of agreements Wednesday aimed at increasing annual trade flows between two of the world’s largest emerging economies from $5.9 billion to at least $10 billion in the coming years.

The accords were signed during the visit of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who met here with President Dilma Rousseff and other top officials.

Some of the agreements facilitate Brazilian imports of Russian wheat and exports of Brazilian soybean meal and pork to Russia, while another covers the potential acquisition of five Russian anti-aircraft missile batteries by Brazil’s armed forces.

“We believe annual trade of $10 billion corresponds to our countries’ potential and is a goal that can be reached in the coming years,” Medvedev told the media.

He said Brazil and Russia have been closely aligned on different matters discussed in meetings of the BRICS nations – whose other members are India, China and South Africa – as well as at UN and G-20 gatherings.

“We’ve been in agreement on most positions with respect to the global economy, which is very important considering the current crisis,” the prime minister said.

–IANS/EFE

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