Ecuador president set off for Russia for partnership deal

MOSCOW, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa begins a historic three-day official visit to Russia on Wednesday.

President Correa, who will be the first Ecuadorian leader ever to visit Russia, is expected to sign an agreement on strategic partnership with Moscow during his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on October 29.

Correa said on the eve of his trip to Europe, which began last Sunday in the U.K., that Ecuador was interested in the strengthening of relations with Russia in trade and defense and his upcoming visit would be primarily focused on "the implementation of earlier signed agreements."

The leader of Ecuador has also expressed interest in loans to purchase Russian-made military equipment.

Ecuador is one of Russia's key partners in Latin America, trailing only Brazil and Argentina in trade with Moscow. Last year saw a record volume of trade between Russia and Ecuador, totaling $935.7 million.

The Russian-Ecuadorian inter-governmental commission for trade and economic cooperation will hold its first meeting in 20 years in Moscow on October 28 prior to Correa's official visit.

The commission includes five working groups on trade and business, military-technological cooperation, energy, agriculture, science, technologies and education.