Caracas, Apr 18 (EFE).- The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, received the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, on Tuesday night.
A meeting with which the official of the giant closes his visit in Caracas, where the representatives of both countries promised to expand bilateral cooperation.
The meeting in the Miraflores palace -seat of the Executive- ended without statements to the media, despite the fact that they had been called for the activity.
Maduro had announced the day before that they would discuss issues such as bilateral cooperation and Russia’s presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Key meeting for Maduro
The state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) reported that both officials met to discuss the “map of cooperation, issues on the international agenda, the challenges of current geopolitics and ongoing projects,” as well as the “impact of the presence of Russia” in Latin America and the Caribbean as a “great ally” of the region.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Yván Gil, with whom Lavrov previously met at the Foreign Ministry headquarters.
At this meeting they agreed to “expand the pace and also volumes” of cooperation in the areas of oil, medicine, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and new technologies, among other areas, the Russian official declared.
After the meeting, Maduro said goodbye to Lavrov, who plans to visit Cuba and Nicaragua – countries that maintain intense economic and political relations with Russia.
These meetings are part of his Latin American tour, which began in Brazil.
During his visit in Caracas, the Russian foreign minister also met with the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.
Political and economic relations
Both governments have had “intense economic and political relations” that are reflected in the agreements made.
The most recent pacts, made in December, are in the areas of health, energy and transportation at sea, according to VTV.
This Tuesday, both countries agreed, during the meeting of their foreign ministers, a series of “new agreements” on culture and education.
The agreements include 200 scholarships for Venezuelan citizens to study at Russian universities in the next year.
Venezuela and Russia, which celebrated the 78th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in March, have strengthened ties and cooperation since the arrival of the so-called Bolivarian revolution in the American country in 1999.