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Russian, Chilean foreign ministers to discuss expansion of trade

MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/. Russian and Chilean foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov and Heraldo Munoz will hold talks in Moscow on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The talks will in particular focus on bilateral trade and economic cooperation, where Russia and Chile have a considerable unused potential.

"An urgent topic at the negotiations is the strengthening of scientific and technical cooperation, in particular, in the field of astronomy, development of interaction in the sphere of peaceful use of space, including the use of the GLONASS system," the ministry said.

The sides will also discuss issues of expanding and improving the contractual legal framework and streamlining the process of coordination for a number of bilateral documents.

The statement said the ministers plan to discuss cooperation in the spheres of the power industry, the oil and gas sector, the mining industry, high-tech developments, including nano-and space technologies.

Lavrov and Munoz will consider a relevant set of issues as part of preparation for the 8th meeting of the intergovernmental Russian-Chilean commission on trade and economic cooperation scheduled for October 27-28, 2015 in the Chilean capital Santiago.

The two foreign ministers will also discuss Russian-Chilean cooperation in the UN Security Council, whose non-permanent member Chile is in 2014-2015, in APEC, as well as between regional integration associations Chile takes part in (The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Union of South American Nations, the Pacific Alliance).

Lavrov and Munoz will also consider urgent international problems, including the fight against the terrorist threat from the Islamic State terrorist organization, the situation in Syria, Yemen, Venezuela.

"The closeness of positions of Russia and Chile on principled issues of global policy creates a favorable basis for expanding constructive interaction of the two countries on the international arena," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The two top diplomats will sign a plan of political consultations between their departments for 2015-2018 following the talks.