RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Bolivian Foreign Minister, Rogelio Mayta, when he met in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, assured that his country is very interested in the participation of large Russian corporations in developing the national economy.
The head of Bolivian diplomacy described as “highly positive” the presence in the country of state-owned consortiums such as the gas company Gazprom or the Russian nuclear agency, Rosatom.
Read also: Check out our coverage on Bolivia
Mayta, who handed Lavrov a message from Bolivian President Luis Arce to the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, described bilateral relations as “excellent” during a joint press conference.
MAJOR ENERGY PROJECTS
To begin with, he expressed his confidence that high-ranking Russian officials would participate in the joint commission meeting that should take place at the end of November or in December in La Paz to “continue making progress in defining the bilateral agenda”.
One of the sectors with the most significant potential is energy. Gazprom has been operating for years in the Incahuasi field, one of the largest in Latin America.
He also revealed that this consortium had submitted a proposal to participate in the public tender to exploit lithium “through direct extraction technology”, called to reactivate its industrialization projects.
Bolivia has reserves of 21 million tons of lithium, one of the largest in the world, most of it in the Uyuni salt flat in the Potosí region, and to a lesser extent in the deposits of Pastos Grandes, also in Potosí, and Coipasa, shared between the Bolivian department of Oruro and Chile.
In the case of Rosatom, the Chancellor emphasized that the construction of the nuclear research center with Russian technology in the city of El Alto “is in its final phase”. He considered that this project is a “crucial step” for his country since it involves the transfer of technology and will also allow the training of Bolivian specialists.
PRAISE FOR THE SPUTNIK V VACCINE
Mayta emphasized to his counterpart that “in difficult times you meet those who are friends and in that complicated time of the pandemic, the first country with which we were able to subscribe the possibility of having vaccines against Covid-19 was Russia with the Sputnik V.”
He insisted that the Russian preparation, which has not yet been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), had been crucial in combating the pandemic in Bolivia.
TRADE ROADMAP
For his part, Lavrov noted the “positive dynamics” in bilateral relations and said that Moscow and La Paz are preparing a “road map” to develop trade exchanges.
In addition to the energy consortiums, Russian railway companies also operate in Bolivia’s mountainous geography. He assured that the objective is to “diversify” trade in future sectors such as industry, civil infrastructure, medicine, and aviation. “Bolivia is one of Russia’s priority partners in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Our ties have been strengthened in recent months,” he stressed.
CRITICISM OF U.S. INTERFERENCE
Mayta expressed his “concern” about the international situation on the political level, marked by tensions between the great powers. “Bolivia is a pacifist country. It is in our interest that we do not lose peace in the world. That any belligerence can be dealt with by the great powers with the necessary maturity,” he said.
Lavrov considered “identical” the position of both countries towards regional and world problems when advocating the “democratization” of international relations based on UN principles.