MONTEVIDEO, July 14./ITAR-TASS/. Non-governmental Institute of Bering and Bellingshausen set to develop economic, cultural and humanitarian ties between Russia and Latin America will open with a founding assembly in Uruguay on Monday.

Heads of the Russian regions, people from business and banking circles, experts and journalists will discuss prospects of economic cooperation, problems of the multipolar world and the current information reality with their Latin American counterparts.

The organization was not named on accident, Russian journalist, president and co-founder of the Institute Sergei Brilev told ITAR-TASS. Nothing was more appropriate than the names of the two great Russian sea explorers who finally outlined the Western hemisphere to give a name to the institute aimed to become a bridge between Russia and Latin America, he added.

“Despite the obvious political rapprochement between Russia and Customs Union, and Latin America, in particular southern Common Market (Mercosur), there is no permanent platform for the dialogue,” Brilev believes.

Next May, Havana would host a historian conference ahead of 70th anniversary of the Victory devoted to the Soviet-Latin American cooperation during the War, Brilev said adding Russia was also translating subtitles for a number of the Russian recent successful films, both fictional films and documentaries, for participation in Latin American film festivals.