Britain is catching up on reinforcing diplomatic bridges with Brazil as the Latin American economy surges ahead and remains ambivalent on the fraught issue of the Falklands Islands dispute with Argentina.

British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg heaped praise on the Latin American regional power as he sought closer trade links during this week's visit and pursued talks at the head of a delegation of ministerial rank officials and senior industry leaders.

Brazil is spearheading Latin American negotiations for a regional trade pact with the European Union and wants its pre-eminence recognized with a U.N. Security Council seat.

The U.N. seat isn't likely to become available soon but Brasilia's quest for acknowledgment of its regional role has given it a de facto leadership status.

Britain supported Brazil's candidacy for the Security Council seat but then had to contend with Brazilian support for Argentina's claim over the Falkland Islands, the British overseas territory where Argentina landed troops in 1982.

The resulting 74-day conflict caused more than 1,000 deaths and led to a formal Argentine retreat from the islands but didn't extinguish Argentine claims on the islands, which are thought to be rich in hydrocarbons.

Clegg's visit skirted the political tensions over Falklands and concentrated instead on initiatives for a more pronounced British business presence in the country.

The British side praised Brazil as an "environmental superpower" because of its industrial advances in renewable energy and hoped to become involved in joint ventures giving business a head-start in environmental industries, seen to be surging ahead of Britain.

A joint business forum -- "U.K. and Brazil: An association for developing innovation in green businesses" -- aimed to give British businesses an entry point for opening new investment projects in the country.

"The green economy will be one of the pillars of the new social, environmental and sustainable economy that we all want to build. And Brazil has the leadership in power generation and ethanol," Clegg said at the forum.

British officials said their side would also seek partnerships in sport before the 2012 London Olympics and in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

Despite progress in the trade talks, the Brazilian position on the Falklands issue remains unclear. The Latin America country has tended to back the Argentine argument that the Falklands are disputed territories, a claim that London rejects.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague was to visit Brazil earlier but the Libyan crisis forced a postponement, as Britain and France launched a NATO military campaign to support democratic forces fighting Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in the North African country.

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