Argentine President Cristina Fernandez welcomed her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday when his tour of Latin America took him to Buenos Aires.
While there, Putin signed a nuclear energy cooperation deal with the country, which is currently on the brink of another debt crisis.
The series of agreements will see Russian atomic energy corporation Rosatom tender for the construction of two nuclear power plants in Argentina.
Putin has labelled Argentina one of Russia’s most important allies in Latin America and told reporters in Buenos Aires that the two nations “cooperated in all areas.”
Argentina abstained from participating in a UN vote in March, which called on member states not to recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
The Russian president is using his tour of Latin America to boost trade ties and strengthen Russia’s influence in the region.
He will spend Sunday in Brazil, where he will watch the final of the World Cup; a tournament Russia is to host in 2018.
Putin take part in bilateral talks with Brazilian officials, as well as attending a two-day summit of the emerging BRICS economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – on Tuesday and Wednesday.
