Russia 'Key Partner' for Mercosur Trade Bloc – Paraguayan Foreign Minister

Member states of the Mercosur economic bloc will back the organization’s key partner, Russia, in its trade initiatives, especially in food security, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga told Sputnik.

MONTEVIDEO (Sputnik) — Founded in 1991, Mercosur is a sub-regional economic bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. Mercosur aims for the free movement of goods, capital, services and labor between its member states.

"Russia is the first country in the world that ratified a very important doctrine of food security and we will support it, because we have to support everyone in this globalized world… [Russia is a] very important strategic partnership for Mercosur," Loizaga said Monday.