This meeting was held conducted in compliance with the mandate set out by the Latin American Council of SELA, through Decision No. 535 on the Work Programme of the Permanent Secretariat for the year 2013, Activity III.1.4 “Analysis of the economic relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, India and South Africa”.

The so-called BRICS Group, made up by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, gathers the most developed countries among the States with emerging economies. These five nations have various features in common: large populations, vast tracts of land, a high quantity and diversity of natural resources and a strong presence in the international economy, with significant growth in their gross domestic products, which make them especially attractive as destinations for investment.

These five countries host 43% of the world's population and account for 25% of the world’s GDP, generating more than half of the economic growth in the world in recent years. Trade between these countries is growing at a rate higher than the world’s average, amounting to some US$ 230 billion in 2012, with projections indicating that it could reach US$ 500 billion by 2015. ¹

With such a substantial share in the global economy, the BRICS Group has special interest for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, a fact that has been reflected in the mandates of the Latin American Council of SELA.

In this connection, in July 2009, within the framework of SELA, three regional meetings were held on the economic relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and three emerging economies: China, India and Russia, where participants reiterated the need for the Permanent Secretariat of SELA to maintain an ongoing analysis of the economic and cooperation relations of those countries with Latin America and the Caribbean. Then, in May 2012, the Permanent Secretariat conducted the “Regional Meeting on recent developments in economic relations between the Russian Federation and Latin America and the Caribbean”, submitting the document entitled “Recent developments in economic relations between the Russian Federation and Latin America and the Caribbean: Institutional and cooperation mechanisms for strengthening relations” (SP/Di N° 14-11). On that occasion, the Member States of SELA recommended the Permanent Secretariat to continue with the analysis of the relations with the Russian Federation.

Also in 2012, the Permanent Secretariat prepared and distributed the documents “Relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean in the current world economic situation” (SP/Di N° 10-12) and “Relations of Latin America and the Caribbean with the Republic of South Africa” (SP/Di No. 24-12).

In 2013, with the conduction of the “Regional Meeting on the economic relations of Latin America and the Caribbean with emerging countries (BRICS)” the Permanent Secretariat complies with the mandates issued by the Latin American Council during its XXXVIII Regular Meeting, held in October 2012.

Being the only Latin American country in the BRIC Group, Brazil, which is in a key position to support relations between the group and the region’s countries, made a formal request to the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) to sponsor and support this event in Brasilia, which was accepted by that prestigious institution.

¹ Sources: IMF DOTS (2013) and WTO (2013), March.