Argentine President to Visit Russia

Argentine President Alberto Fernández arrives in Moscow today to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The focus of the trip—which also includes visits to China and Barbados—is an attempt to strengthen economic alliances in order to resolve Argentina’s deepening economic crisis. The visit comes amidst an agreement this week between Argentina and the International Monetary Fund to restructure $44.5 billion of debt from a record 2018 bailout.

In Russia, it is expected that Fernández will stress the importance of Moscow-Buenos Aires strategic and economic cooperation. Bilateral relations have strengthened significantly since Moscow began distributing its Sputnik V vaccines to Argentina. It is expected that the two countries will discuss potential joint projects in healthcare, finance and transport sectors. The aim will be to promote economic growth and foreign investment for Argentina while Russia will look to reinforce its regional influence.

Notably, this comes as the Russian Direct Investment Fund began preliminary talks to strengthen trade and investment in December, culminating in the purchase of $800 million worth of Russian electric trains by Bueno Aires. Thus, Argentina-Russian relations will likely become more intertwined as both continue to counter the spread of COVID-19 and spearhead economic recovery.