Make way for a guest: Russian Federation is working on the possibility of a visit by the president of El Salvador

Russia and El Salvador are working on the organization of the visit of the republic's leader Nayib Bukele to Moscow, the first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Nicaragua and head of the branch in El Salvador, Alexander Ilyukhin, told Izvestia. Earlier, the president of the Latin American country expressed interest in visiting the Russian capital, but given El Salvador's dependence on the United States, the possibility of the trip largely depends on Donald Trump's policy toward Russia. On the other hand, El Salvador has so far pursued a detached policy and has not joined sanctions, nor has it condemned the SWO. The Republic may be of interest to some Russian companies that want to move their production out of Europe in an effort to avoid undue pressure. At the same time, they will be able to enter new markets. What else are the prospects for cooperation between Russia and El Salvador - in the material "Izvestia".

Nayib Bukele's visit to Russia is possible in 2025

Russia and El Salvador are working on the organization of the visit of President Nayib Bukele to Moscow, it may take place during the next year. Alexander Ilyukhin, First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Nicaragua and head of the branch in El Salvador, told Izvestia.

- The possibility of organizing the visit is being worked out, the mood of both our countries is positive, but its practical implementation depends on the confluence of many factors and the current international situation. One of these factors will be, in particular, what the initial period of Donald Trump's administration will be like. Various details of a negative nature can arise unexpectedly," Ilyukhin noted.

Back in June 2024, during SPIEF, El Salvador's Vice President Felix Ulloa said his country would be happy to welcome Vladimir Putin on its territory, as well as conveyed Bukele's interest in visiting Russia.

"In fact, there was actually once already a date set for his visit, but I believe it was during the period in which the pandemic hit, so the visit did not take place and then the president focused on other activities. He's very selective about traveling. And he decided then to go to Russia because there is a great interest to strengthen cooperation, to have relations on a different level between the two countries," said Felix Ulloa.

El Salvador is quite dependent on the United States and, according to foreign analysts, that connection can only increase with Donald Trump officially becoming president. Bukele was one of the first foreign leaders to congratulate the Republican on his election victory. Bukele was among the first politicians Trump called to his inauguration. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Argentine leader Javier Milay also received invitations at the same time. CNN notes that all three are close allies of the Republican.

During Trump's second term, countries are likely to work more closely to address the migration issue. In 2019, Bukele and Trump signed an agreement under which El Salvador pledged to accept on its territory asylum seekers whose applications were rejected by the States.

Potential for cooperation between Russia and El Salvador

In June 2024, Felix Ulloa noted that upon entering his second term, Bukele would focus on the country's economic growth as well as the development of infrastructure projects. He pointed to the construction of 180,000 kilometers of roads, railways, airports and ports as potential areas for foreign investment. "With the level of security that El Salvador has achieved in the war against organized crime, Central America is turning into an attractive space for investment," he stressed.

Another area for cooperation could be the peaceful atom. Earlier, Ivan Dybov, director of the Rosatom Latin America center, said that the countries are discussing the launch of nuclear energy projects, in particular the possibility of building a research reactor.

- In recent years, relations have been developing dynamically. Trade turnover has grown noticeably. Despite the significant influence of the US, President Bukele has a rather independent position. In recent years he has been neutral on the NWO and has not joined the sanctions against Russia, he has been friends with China and is interested in BRICS. The president of El Salvador is a serious pragmatist with whom it makes sense to negotiate. He needs strong allies in both the West and the East. Despite his friendship with Trump, he has never stopped maintaining the warmest relations with Cuba and has advocated lifting the embargo," Magomed Kodzoev, a senior researcher at the Latin America Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.

Back in 2017, Russia and El Salvador discussed the possibility of conducting joint projects in the production of liquefied natural gas in the republic - Moscow has vast experience in this area. At the same time, despite the fact that El Salvador has its own deposits of this fuel, it imports almost all the oil and gas it needs for domestic consumption from the United States.

At the beginning of 2024, the country's legislature passed amendments to the law on hydrocarbons, allowing the Salvadoran government to enter into contracts for geological exploration. In this way, the government seeks to resume projects that were halted in 2008.

- Russia has a lot to offer the Salvadoran economy in terms of energy. However, it is necessary to proceed with caution. It is unclear what policy Trump will pursue in the region and what he will offer El Salvador. So far, the country has behaved independently and has not allowed the US to impose its will. But how relations will develop this time, it is hard to say. Still, we are in a very different situation today than we were in Trump's first cadence. China's growing presence in Latin America has given the US a big scare. There is and will be room for cooperation, of course. But what are the limits of this cooperation, it is hard to say. The near future will show that," Magomed Kodzoev explained.

Due to the recent difficulties faced by Russian entrepreneurs in Europe, some of them have now begun to consider El Salvador as a potential country for relocating production, says Izvestia's source familiar with the situation. Especially producers of goods for tourism, hunting and fishing are expressing such interest. In the future, the goods may be sold on the markets of Latin America and the United States.

As for payments, the republic is ready to make settlements in cryptocurrency. El Salvador is the first country that has officially adopted bitcoin as a means of payment. Inside it, any tourist can pay with bitcoins for any services.