Thursday, 29 October 2009
The presidents of Russia and Ecuador, Dmitry Medvedev and Rafael Correa, will discuss energy, oil production and military cooperation at talks in Moscow on Thursday.
Correa arrived in the Russian capital on a three-day visit on Wednesday. He is also scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church.
Correa, who is the first Ecuadorian leader ever to visit Russia, is expected to sign an agreement on strategic partnership with Russia at the meeting with Medvedev.
He will also attend a session of the Russian-Ecuadorian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation meeting for the first time in 20 years in Moscow.
Correa said on the eve of his trip to Europe that Ecuador was interested in strengthening relations with Russia in trade and defense and that his visit would be primarily focused on "implementation of earlier signed agreements."
The Ecuadorian leader has also expressed interest in loans to purchase Russian-made military equipment. On Tuesday, Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce said his country would buy two Mi-17 Hip transport helicopters worth $22 million from Russia.
Ecuador is one of Russia's key partners in Latin America, trailing only Brazil and Argentina in trade with Moscow. Last year saw a record volume of trade between Russia and Ecuador, totaling $935 million.
On Wednesday, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Ecuador asked Russia for a loan. He did not name any specific figures.
The two countries are also expected to discuss cooperation in building hydropower plants and in oil technologies. In August, they signed a memorandum on civilian nuclear power cooperation.
