A special forum to promote inter-regional trade between India and Mercosur countries will be held on June 9 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The meeting, to promote South-South co-operation, is being organised as part of the Rio Trade Week in the run-up to the 11th UNCTAD meeting in Sao Paulo from June 13.

The Latin American grouping Mercosur, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay has lately been stepping up trade with India and the special forum would help in furthering this.

The forum - Regionalism and South-South Cooperation - would bring together trade negotiators, policy makers and private sector from India and the Mercosur countries, an official statement said in New Delhi on Friday.

Championed by Brazilian President Lula da Silva, the 'new trade geography' concept recognises that South is now a bigger force in international trade with a number of growth nodes.

South-South trade pact will help create alternatives and new growth areas, reduce dependence, unite developing countries in international fora and bring more symmetric distribution of trade gains than North-South agreements.