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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country’s relations with Latin America and other developing regions are key to the country’s economic future.
“I'm sure that the trade and economic partnerships with the Latin American countries, the BRICS states have a large potential,” President Putin stated during his speech at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The BRICS countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The St. Petersburg forum, which is being held from June 18-20, brings together heads of states and business leaders from around the world to discuss current geopolitical and economic affairs.
During his speech, the Russian leader also emphasized that Russia would cooperate with the West, despite persistent tensions over the Ukraine crisis.
“I want to stress that active work with the new centers of global growth does not mean that we are intending to treat our dialogue with the Western partners less attentively.”
Russia is seeking to increase its presence in Latin America and strengthen trade ties with non-traditional partners, due to the increased tensions with Western countries, which have arbitrarily sanctioned Moscow after blaming the Kremlin for aiding the eastern Ukraine separatists.
In 2014, Putin toured several Latin America nations and signed bilateral agreements with various countries including Brazil, Russia's primary trading partner in the region.
Putin’s comments come as the BRICS countries prepare for its seventh summit in the Russian city of Ufa in July, when leaders from their respective governments will jointly promote emerging economies’ interests and promote global economic governance reform.
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