During the two-day visit, his first to the South American country, Medvedev will meet privately with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to discuss a bilateral trade agenda that includes nuclear energy and possible defense sales.

Medvedev is also set to join business leaders before dining with Lula at the presidential palace in Rio de Janeiro.

"The bilateral agenda is vast and includes aerospace cooperation, energy resources -- especially gas -- and possible cooperation on nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," a Brazilian foreign ministry spokesman told AFP, asking not to be named.

"The Brazilian government's decision to resume its peaceful nuclear program by building the Angra III plant aroused Russia's interest, so areas of cooperation may be explored," he added.

Delegations from both countries are expected to devote much of their meetings to deepening a defense and security cooperation agreement. A first protocol was signed in April.

The two countries could finalize Brazil's purchase of 12 Russian attack helicopters for use in the Amazon region, according to local press reports not confirmed by AFP. The sale of executive aircraft produced by the Brazilian company Embraer will also be on the table, according to the spokesman.

Brazil sees opportunity for closer aerospace technology cooperation with Russia. Both countries are jointly developing a new satellite launching rocket.

Medvedev is seeking progress on bilateral agreements for the use of Russian geostationary satellites.

The Kremlin leader's four-nation trip kicked off Friday in Peru, where he met with leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, including outgoing US President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

After his stop in Brazil, Medvedev will travel to Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is one of Washington's most virulent critics, before completing his tour in Cuba, the communist arch-foe of the United States in the western hemisphere since the late 1950s.

The tour will demonstrate Russia's "increasing interest in expanding its global influence, particularly on the continent Washington believes to be a traditional sphere of American influence," said Yevgeny Volk, Moscow coordinator of The Heritage Foundation, an American think tank.

The Venezuela visit, the first ever by a Russian president, coincides with joint naval exercises in the Caribbean and recent Russian air force exercises in Venezuela, right in Washington's backyard.

Russian media have said the wargames reflect a direct response to US plans to extend a missile shield in former Soviet republics in central Europe.

Washington maintains the missile defense plans for missile interceptors in Poland and a missile-tracking radar in the Czech Republic do not threaten Russia and target "rogue states" such as Iran.

Medvedev is accompanied by senior officials from Russian energy giant Gazprom, which controls about 16 percent of world reserves of natural gas.

Gazprom, which Medvedev formerly chaired, and the Brazilian company Petrobas, will sign a protocol opening the door for Russia to enter the Brazilian market.

But Russia has been hit hard in the global financial crisis, casting a shadow over its global ambitions.

"With the decrease in oil prices it will be much more difficult for Russia to play the role of superpower," Volk said.

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