 The two countries signed the "Brazil-Russia Military Technology and Transfer Pact", an important agreement in the area of space technology, missile defense, and military weapons transfer.In response to an invitation made by then Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vladimir Putin made a state visit to Brazil on November 22, 2004, being the first visit of a Russian President in the history of bilateral relations, when the "Technological Alliance" was celebrated between the two countries.On October 18, 2005, during a state visit of President Lula to Moscow, Silva and Putin signed the bilateral "Brazil-Russia Strategic Alliance, a"s well as an agreement that made it possible for the Brazilian Space Agency to send the first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes, into space aboard Soyuz TMA-8.