The main theme of talks between Vladimir Putin and the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was expanding Russian-Brazilian economic ties.
Today of all the states of Latin America, Brazil is Russia's largest trading partner. The volume of trade has exceeded the 2,1 billion dollar mark.
One of the key fields for bilateral cooperation is science and technology. During the talks both sides mentioned the significant potential for cooperation in aircraft construction and space exploration. An important step in this direction was concluding a contract providing for a Brazilian astronaut to be sent to the International Space Station in 2006.