MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. Russia and Bolivia have significant opportunities for expanding mutually beneficial joint activities in the energy sector, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference following negotiations in Moscow with his Bolivian counterpart Celinda Sosa.
"There are significant opportunities for expansion mutually beneficial joint activities in the field of energy," Lavrov said.
"We have a mutual interest in increasing and diversifying bilateral trade, in implementing very promising investment projects. In this regard, of course, we agreed to more actively use the potential of the intergovernmental Russian-Bolivian commission on trade and economic cooperation," he added.
The Russian top diplomat noted that Gazprom, together with the Bolivian state oil and gas company YPFB, is developing a field in the Ipati and Akio blocks.
"The Rosatom state corporation is implementing a flagship project in Bolivia for the construction of a center for nuclear research and technology in El Alto, a unique one for Latin Amerca," he said.
According to Lavrov, Russia considers the development and industrial development of Bolivian lithium deposits as a promising area.
"Today we talked a lot about what additional steps need to be taken to find solutions that meet the interests of our countries, reflecting the balance of these interests, in particular taking into account the initiatives that the Bolivian side, in turn, put forward in the areas of energy and supplies of agricultural products," he added.
The Russian Foreign Minister also pointed to "a very good pace in the field of educational exchanges." "We are increasing the number of scholarships that we annually provide to Bolivia for the education of its citizens at Russian universities. We talked about building up humanitarian and sports ties. We agreed to promote direct contacts between business circles," he said.