(Prensa Latina) - "Argentina -Venezuela trade is around $1 billion, after a 50-percent growth in 2006, that country's ambassador to this capital Alicia Castro reported.

The diplomat spoke at the presentation of a trade mission of businesspeople from Santa Fe province that are exploring in Venezuela the possibility to extend trade relations, according to the Bolívarian News Agency (ABN).

Castro said the bilateral relation has an aspect that is impossible to quantify, as the principles to assure technology exchange and eventual joint development of trade projects.

'It is about creating jointly, giving technology, and favour joint ventures with joint work between Venezuelans and Argentinians,' he said.

The Argentinian ambassador recalled that a bilateral agreement avoided the sale to a transnational of the Sancor dairy cooperative, the largest in his country, and opened doors to technology exchange and payment of part of the credit with production.

'They will carry out an important transfer of technology, personnel training, and asset acquisition to allow the Bolívarian Republic of Venezuela industrializing its milk production,' he explained.

The Argentinian businesspeople delegation, presided over by Santa Fe Governor Jorge Obeid beagn meetings in the country, with potential Venezuelan partners, seeking to expand the exchange".