As new figures show that the Brazilian economy has overtaken the UK's, its ambassador to Britain says that to sustain growth the country needs to focus on high tech industries, education and manufacturing in sectors like pharmaceuticals.

Roberto Jaguaribe told the Today programme's Simon Jack that, while the Brazilian economy has overtaken the UK's, it is "still a developing economy" and has a long way to go in terms of per capita income and social benefits for its huge population of 195 million.

Mr Jaguaribe believes that the new figures, showing Brazil to now be the sixth largest economy in the world, are due to the government's success in curbing inflation, which had been running at up to 85 percent a month, giving the government no planning capability.

"Getting out of this vicious circle was a fundamental aspect of Brazil's success," he said.

And Mr Jaguaribe went on to say that Brazil's is the largest economy which is least dependent on exports, adding that growth has been due to the power of its internal market.

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