Business point: the president of Bolivia is ready to visit Russia in the spring

Bolivian President Luis Arce has confirmed his interest in visiting Russia in the coming months, Russian Ambassador to the country Dmitry Verchenko told Izvestia. The dates of the visit, according to the diplomat, will be announced in the coming weeks. It is possible that the leader will arrive in Moscow on May 9th. Since 2025, Bolivia has become a BRICS partner country, but even before that it actively cooperated with Moscow in the field of lithium mining — the Latin American state is among the leaders in metal deposits. Together with the Bolivian partners, Rosatom plans to produce up to 14 thousand tons of lithium per year. To strengthen bilateral cooperation, an exchange of parliamentary missions is planned this year. Despite a significant reduction in exports in 2024, Bolivian entrepreneurs are expressing interest in expanding their presence in the Russian market.

Russia expects Luis Arce's visit on May 9th

In a conversation with Russian diplomats, Bolivian leader Luis Arce confirmed his interest in visiting Russia in the spring of 2025. This was reported to Izvestia by Ambassador Dmitry Verchenko.

— The invitation to visit Russia on May 9 and take part in the celebrations was handed over to President Luis Arce at the end of last year. During a personal conversation, the Head of State confirmed to me that he was interested in visiting our country in the spring. However, we believe that Bolivia is rapidly becoming involved in the electoral campaign, and there is also internal tension. For this reason, the president's schedule is currently busy, to put it mildly. Anyway, we expect that in the next 2-3 weeks we will receive certainty from our partners on this issue," Dmitry Verchenko told Izvestia.

In addition, according to the ambassador, a number of bilateral parliamentary visits are currently being worked out, including as part of Bolivia's celebration of the 200th anniversary of independence in August this year.

The last time the Bolivian leader paid an official visit to Russia was in October last year. Luis Arce visited Kazan at the end of October and took part in the events of the BRICS summit under the Russian chairmanship. Then, by the way, the country received the status of a BRICS partner.

"As a part of BRICS, Bolivia is in the process of establishing contacts with the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia in order to share experiences with them, as well as to be able to conclude trade contracts for the export of hydrocarbons and attract lithium investments to Bolivia," Freddy, director of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy of Bolivia, told Izvestia. Gustavo Velasquez Robles.

At the BRICS summit, Luis Arce met with Vladimir Putin, the parties discussed issues of bilateral cooperation in the field of lithium development, nuclear and hydropower, as well as in disaster management. The Russian leader noted that the two countries are actively developing cooperation in various fields, from politics and economics to culture.

Among the Latin American leaders, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel have already confirmed their presence at the May 9 celebrations. The invitation was also extended to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In the event of his visit, it is expected that the parties will sign an agreement on strategic cooperation.

Collaboration in lithium development

The priority area of cooperation between Russia and Bolivia is partnership in the lithium sector. Bolivia, as well as Argentina and Chile, are among the countries with the largest lithium reserves. Bolivia's resources are estimated at about 21 million tons.

In September last year, Uranium One Group (part of Rosatom State Corporation) and the Bolivian state-owned company YLB (Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos) signed a contract to build a plant in the Latin American country, which outlines a plan to produce 14 thousand tons of lithium carbonate per year in the Uyuni salt marsh. However, joint work on this project has not started yet, as the agreement has not yet been approved in the parliament of the Latin American country.

— The transition to the full-scale implementation of the project is being delayed due to difficulties in passing the contract through the Bolivian parliament. This problem, in turn, is largely due to the domestic political tensions unfolding in the country ahead of the presidential elections in August. It can be said that the effective development of bilateral Russian-Bolivian cooperation in the lithium field at the initial stage is to a certain extent limited by the diverse political interests of the groups fighting for power," says Dmitry Verchenko.

Nevertheless, according to the diplomat, the Uranium One Group and the embassy are in constant contact with the Bolivian contractors, both sides are convinced that the industrial development of lithium is a strategic area for cooperation.

Bolivia today aims to multiply the growth of the national lithium industry and deepen the industrialization of its natural resources. On this path, the Bolivian partners place a high stake on engineering solutions, accumulated experience and production competencies of Rosatom organizations, as well as on technological know-how from leading Russian industrial companies, Rosatom told Izvestia.

"We consider this direction not only from the point of view of strengthening Rosatom's position in the global market of non—energy products and technologies, but above all as a big step towards developing our long—standing bilateral partnership based on mutual respect for national interests and contributing to accelerating the economic growth of the Bolivian state," the company said.

Russia has its own lithium reserves, estimated at 3.5 million tons, the fifth largest in the world. Nevertheless, there is practically no industrial metal mining in our country. The only company engaged in lithium mining in Russia is the Mariinsky Mine. The company is developing the Malyshevskoye field in the Sverdlovsk region, which produced 27 tons of lithium in 2023.

Due to favorable prices for imported lithium, there has been no need to develop its production in our country for a long time. However, in February 2025, the president drew attention to the fact that Russia needs to address this issue: "In principle, we have everything we need. We just need to do this purposefully, create business conditions, and invest in infrastructure. Lithium is still not mined. But what about without him? It's obvious to the experts. But we can do it. And we could have done this 10-15 years ago," Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the Future Technologies Forum.

Trade turnover between Russia and Bolivia

The main share of the Russian-Bolivian trade turnover in 2024 was the supply of high—tech equipment to the Latin American country from the Russian Federation, due to the construction of the nuclear research and technology center in El Alto by Rosatom, the ambassador said. Such supplies, according to the diplomat, continue this year.

— The construction of the Nuclear research and Technology Center in El Alto is in the final stages. A reactor will be installed there around July, so the radioecology and radiobiology laboratories will be able to start work and simplify obtaining sanitary certificates for the export of some of our products, fruits and vegetables," says Freddy Gustavo Velasquez Robles.

As for other aspects of Russian exports, Russian cars that have proven themselves well in the highlands, as well as fertilizers, wheat, and petroleum products, have prospects in Bolivia.

— Appeals from Bolivians for assistance in their export to Russia are constantly received, and not only from businesses: the current administration of President Luis Arce considers support for Bolivian exports to be its priority. In addition to minerals, Bolivia is ready to supply the Russian market with wine, the national alcoholic drink singani, as well as coffee, cocoa, and Brazil nuts. The embassy vouches for the quality of the listed Bolivian export goods, all of them are known to us not from newspapers and advertising brochures, but personally tasted," says Dmitry Verchenko.

Nevertheless, by the end of 2024, Bolivian exports to Russia decreased. Traditionally, the country has exported products worth from $13 million to $40 million per year, mainly minerals, but also agricultural products. Difficulties arise, among other things, due to the fact that in Bolivia there is a restriction on the free withdrawal of funds abroad, as well as due to the existence of a parallel dollar exchange rate along with the official one.