Expansion of trade relations will be high on the agenda of next week's summit between Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her Argentinean counterpart Cristina Kirchner in Buenos Aires, a Brazilian diplomat said on Friday.

Rousseff, who will travel to Buenos Aires next Monday on her first trip abroad since taking office on Jan. 1, would establish a partnership with the Argentine government to implement the housing program "My house, my life" in Argentina, Antonio Simoes from the Brazilian Foreign Ministry told a news briefing in Brasilia.

"Housing is a common challenge. The goal is to exchange experiences and propose Brazil's program to Argentina," Simoes said.

He said an agreement for the construction of 1 million houses in Argentina should be signed during Rousseff's visit to Buenos Aires. The project will be partially financed by the Brazilian government.

In addition, Rousseff and Kirchner will also discuss the construction of the Garabi hydropower complex, to be located on the border between Brazil and Argentina.

Bilateral trade relations between Brazil and Argentina remain close, with the two-way trade volume totalling 32.9 billion U.S. dollars.

By choosing Argentina as the destination of her first foreign trip as Brazilian president, Rousseff confirms that her government's foreign policy will put high priority to South-South relations and rapprochement with neighboring countries.

After Argentina, she will also visit Peru in February before travelling to Paraguay and Uruguay in March, according to Simoes.

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