Latin America

• Saturday, January 26th 2013 - 20:59 UTC

  Major summit in Santiago with inverted roles: EU knocks on the door of Latam

  

  Representatives from sixty countries begin Saturday in Santiago de Chile the two day summit which breaks with recent tradition: Latin American countries, full of economic confidence, are hosting their European partners and are expected to volunteer to help with Europe’s economic problems.

• Saturday, January 26th 2013 - 19:01 UTC

  EU27/CELAC trade experienced sharp decline in 2009 with strong recovery since

  

  The European Union27 international trade in goods with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, (CELAC), has been characterised in recent years by steady growth between 2003 and 2008, a sharp decline in 2009 and a strong recovery since then.

• Friday, January 25th 2013 - 15:24 UTC

  Falklands to host Commonwealth lawmakers’ conference: ‘self determination and devolution’ in agenda

  

  The Falkland Islands will be hosting the 43rd British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIMR) Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) from the 11th to 15th February 2013. This is the second time BIMR holds its annual conference in the Falklands, last time was in February 2004.

• Friday, January 25th 2013 - 05:43 UTC

  Falklands make £8m transfer to “Oil Development Reserve”, future sovereign wealth fund

  

  The government of the Falkland Islands has made a transfer of over 8 million pounds (£ 8.274 million) to the new Oil Development Reserve, a first step towards a ‘Sovereign Wealth Fund’ based on the Norwegian model it was explained at this week’s meeting of the Standing Finance Committee.

• Friday, January 25th 2013 - 04:38 UTC

  Dengue kills 16 in Paraguay where 13.000 cases have been reported

  

  Paraguay’s health authorities have reported that sixteen people have died of dengue disease since the beginning of the year, ten directly infected and the other six as a consequence of other complications.

• Friday, January 25th 2013 - 04:16 UTC

  ECLAC underlines significance of EU investments in the region: 500bn in a decade

  

  The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena called for “a more symmetrical, balanced and equitable relationship with Europe” during the first CELAC/EU academic summit in Santiago de Chile.

• Friday, January 25th 2013 - 04:10 UTC

  EU and Brazil agree on a “speedy conclusion” of the trade pact with Mercosur

  

  Brazilian and European leaders called on Thursday for the speedy conclusion of a free trade and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. The call for action was made as Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff hosted European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

• Thursday, January 24th 2013 - 08:08 UTC

  Ashton praises Peru for its inclusion policy and fighting child malnutrition

  

  The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, highlighted the “important role that Peru is playing in the Latinamerican region,” assuring that Peru will participate “very constructively” in the EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) summit, in Santiago de Chile, on 26-27 January.

• Thursday, January 24th 2013 - 05:58 UTC

  LatinFocus forecasts regional GDP to expand 3.7% and average inflation 6.6%

  

  LatinFocus Consensus Forecast panellists expect regional GDP to expand 3.7% this year, following an estimated 2.9% increase recorded in 2012. The stable figure reflects rosier prospects for Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, which were offset by downward revisions to Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay.

• Thursday, January 24th 2013 - 01:14 UTC

  Brazilian industry claims Mercosur is ‘paralyzed’ and blasts Argentina’s ‘illegal barriers’ on trade

  

  Brazil’s powerful manufacturers’ lobby openly criticized the “illegal barriers” imposed by the government of President Cristina Fernandez on Brazilian produce, and also lashed at President Dilma Rousseff for her administration’s “permissive attitude” towards Buenos Aires, a position that has “paralyzed Mercosur”.