In an interview with RIA Novosti released earlier in the week, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said that Brazil is looking forward to scaling up its trade with Russia.

The government official extolled the benefits of the growth in trade turnover last year between the two nations, and said he thinks it will grow even more in the future.

Vieira said, “It is necessary to make progress in trade relations, which have great potential for growth. In 2022, we set a new record in our trade turnover, approaching the $10 billion mark, but it can grow even more.”

The minister said that the government of Brazil is working on diversifying mutual trade, which primarily includes fertilizers and other agricultural products at present, with high-value products. He also said he would like to see more cooperation with Russia on projects in education and culture, as well as science, technology, and technical innovation.

Vieira noted that Brazil would like to look at the possibility of using local currencies to settle their trade with Russia and other global partners, so as to reduce their dependence on the euro and the dollar. He noted Brazil is currently working on developing a new currency for use in trade between members of the BRICS alliance, particularly Russia and China.

Already Brasilia inked an agreement with China, whereby Brazil and Beijing will trade in mutual currencies, abandoning the dollar as an intermediary currency.