BUENOS-AIRES, March 12 (RIA Novosti) - Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana has signed an agreement on visa-free travel with Russia.

The agreement, signed on Wednesday at a ceremony in Buenos Aires attended by the Russian ambassador, will come into force after signing by the Russian side, and ratification by the two countries' parliaments.

The deal will "help strengthen contacts between the business communities of the two countries and spur the development of tourism and cultural exchange," Taiana said.

Argentina has become the fifth state in Latin America to scrap visa requirements for Russian citizens, following Venezuela, Cuba, Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry announced in early March it was planning to unilaterally introduce a visa-free agreement for Russia.