IBSA Dialogue Forum
Encyclopedia
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation
Internationalism (politics)
Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...
among these countries. It represents three important poles for galvanizing South-South cooperation
South-South Cooperation
South-South Cooperation is a term historically used by policymakers and academics to describe the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries, also known as countries of the global South.- History :...
and greater understanding between three important continents of the developing world namely, Africa, Asia and South America. The forum provides the three countries with a platform to engage in discussions for cooperation in the field of agriculture, trade, culture, and defence among others.
The IBSA Dialogue Forum plays an increasingly important role in the foreign policies of India
Foreign relations of India
India has formal diplomatic relations with most nations, as the world's second most populous country and the world's most-populous democracy and recently has one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world...
, Brazil
Foreign relations of Brazil
The Ministry of External Relations is responsible for managing the foreign relations of Brazil. Brazil is a significant political and economic power in Latin America and a key player on the world stage...
and South Africa
Foreign relations of South Africa
The foreign relations of South Africa have spanned from the country's time as Dominion and later Realm of the British Empire to its isolationist policies under Apartheid to its position as a responsible international actor taking a key role in Africa....
. It has become instrumental for promoting ever closer coordination on global issues between three large multicultural and multiracial democracies of Asia, South America and Africa, and contributed to enhancing trilateral India-Brazil-South Africa cooperation in sectoral areas.
Origin
After the failed CancúnCancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), developing countries felt the need to strengthen their cooperation in trade, investment and economic diplomacy. The leaders of three regional goliaths spearheaded a new approach for South-South cooperation at the 2003 UN General Assembly Forum, resulting in a trilateral India-Brazil-South Africa agreement. The term, South-South cooperation signifies the cooperation between India (South Asia), Brazil (South America) and South Africa. The Declaration at the trilateral meeting in Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
, called for removing protectionist policies and trade distorting practices by improving the multilateral trade system.
On 6 June 2003, Yashwant Sinha
Yashwant Sinha
Yashwant Sinha is an Indian politician and a former finance minister of India and foreign minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet...
, External affairs minister of India, Celso Amorim
Celso Amorim
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim is a Brazilian diplomat who has been Minister of Defence since August 2011. Amorim was the Minister of Foreign Relations from 1993 to 1995 under President Itamar Franco and again from 2003 to 2011 under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.Before his appointment by Lula,...
, Foreign minister of Brazil and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma is a South African politician and was an anti-apartheid activist. She was South Africa's Minister of Health from 1994 to 1999, under President Nelson Mandela, then Minister of Foreign Affairs from 17 June 1999 to 10 May 2009, under Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema...
, Foreign minister of South Africa met in Brasilia, where the IBSA Dialogue forum was formalized through the adoption of the "Brasilia Declaration". The IBSA Dialogue forum facilitates regular consultations at senior officials level, government (summit) levels as well as amongst academics, intellectuals and other members of the civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
.. By some experts, it is also seen as an endeavor to challenge the international system by Pivotal Middle Powers through peaceful convincing, instead of other means.
Brasilia Declaration
The Ministers highlighted their priorities on promotion of social equity and inclusive growth by reiterating the need for tackling hunger and poverty by means of effective implementation of government schemes. The declaration also highlights the need for promoting family-run farms, food security
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...
, health, education, human rights and environmental protection
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
. They recalled that social empowerment makes better use of human potential, contributing to economic development in a significant manner. The ministers also stressed the importance of elimination of racial discrimination and gender bias while framing public policies.
While welcoming the benefits that have been achieved through globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
and free market trade in the developing countries, the ministers expressed their concerns that a large part of the world has not benefited from it. In this context, they reiterated their commitment to pursue and implement policies which are inclusive, integrative and equitable. Toward this end, they reaffirmed their stand to carry out negotiations on Doha round of talks, through which the developed countries might eliminate some of their protectionist and trade-distorting practices, thereby providing a level playing field for the developing countries in the field of international trade.
The Ministers recommended to their respective Chiefs of State and/or Government the convening of a summit-level meeting of the three countries. They also decided to further intensify dialogue at all levels, when needed, to organize meetings of top officials and experts responsible for issues of mutual interest. They agreed to hold regular meetings and dialogues on issues of common interest. They further agreed to establish a Trilateral Joint Commission. The Foreign Ministries will be the pivots of the Trilateral Joint Commission and the meetings will be co-chaired by the three Foreign Ministers. The secretariat facilities shall be coordinated by the Secretary in charge of this area in the Foreign Ministry of the host country.
Objectives
The IBSA Dialogue Forum aims to promote South-South cooperation and build consensus on issues of international importance. It also aims at increasing the trade opportunities among the three countries, as well as facilitate the trilateral exchange of information, technologies and skills to complement each other strengths. Subsequently, it promotes the international poverty alleviation and social development with main focus being on equitable development. It also aims to explore avenues to promote cooperation in broad range of areas, which include agriculture, climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
/global Warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, culture, defence
Defense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
, education, energy, health, information society
Information society
The aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic,...
, science and technology
Science and technology
Science and technology is a term of art used to encompass the relationship between science and technology. It frequently appears within titles of academic disciplines and government offices.-See also:...
, social development, trade and investment, tourism and transport.
IBSA summits
| Date | Host country | Host leader | Location held | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | September, 2006 |  Brazil |
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as... |
Brasilia |
| 2007 | October, 2007 |  South Africa |
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki... |
Pretoria |
| 2008 | October, 2008 |  India |
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian... |
New Delhi |
| 2010 2010 IBSA summit The 2010 IBSA summit took place in Brasilia, Brazil on April 15, 2010. The meeting took place between the three heads of government from the IBSA states. This was the fourth such meeting.-Overview:... |
15 April 2010 | Brazil |
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as... |
Brasília |
| 2011 | October, 2011 | South Africa |
Jacob Zuma Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election.... |
Pretoria |
Agriculture
A Joint Development Project has been undertaken in Guinea Bissau. It aims to improve production, promote and develop small-scale agro-industry. It also seeks to improve and diversify horticultural crops. IBSA Ministers of Agriculture met in Rome on 22 November 2005 on the margins of a FAOFão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
Conference. This was followed by a meeting of IBSA Senior Officials in Agriculture in New Delhi on 18 & 19 January 2006. The meeting discussed a preparation of a draft Memorandum of Understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
which provides for development of plans for research and capacity building.
Education
The three countries have recognised Education as a vital instrument for achieving social equity. India is the lead country in the education sector. Three major areas of cooperation have been identified for collaboration namely, Open and distance educationDistance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
, higher and professional education and finally, universal education with focus on gender equality
Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...
. Each of the three countries are to host one Round Table conference on one of the themes. India chose universal education, Brazil chose higher and professional education while South Africa chose open and distance education.
Energy
The working group aims to promote clean and efficient sources of energy such as bio-fuelsBiofuel
Biofuel is a type of fuel whose energy is derived from biological carbon fixation. Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases...
. It also gives an opportunity to exchange information about renewable energy and use of non-conventional energy sources.
Science & technology
Science & technology has been identified as one of the key areas of tri-lateral cooperation. The following is a list of approved areas of research cooperation and the corresponding lead countries:- HIV/AIDS and NanotechnologyNanotechnologyNanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
- India - MalariaMalariaMalaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and OceanographyOceanographyOceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
- Brazil - TuberculosisTuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and BiotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
- South Africa
Activities in each area are implemented by Area coordinators, who are experts in their respective disciplines. Workshops in the above mentioned disciplines have been held in the three countries regularly.
Trade
The IBSA economic ministers met in New Delhi in March 2005 and agreed on a mechanism to identify and eliminate non-tariff barriers which impede mutual trade. Some of the mechanisms considered include customs cooperation, sharing of expertise in the field of energy, agriculture, food processingFood processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
, tourism and financial and banking services. It has been decided to promote cooperation in the SME
Small and medium enterprise
Small and medium enterprises or small and medium-sized enterprises are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.The abbreviation "SME" occurs commonly...
sector. For this purpose, common terms of reference have been developed which can aid in development of this sector. As, all the three countries have a large number of small-scale enterprises, it is expected that cooperation in this sector can have profound development implications.
Transport
The Working group aims at cooperation between the three countries in the areas of air link expansions, training and knowledge exchange in airports and airspace management, port management, including capacity building in shipbuildingShipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
. Discussions on air and maritime agreements are also being considered. Development of trans-shipment facilities for creation of a South-South highway, which integrates sub-regional connection between Mercosur
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
, Southern African Customs Union
Southern African Customs Union
The Southern African Customs Union is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.-History:SACU is the oldest still existing customs union in the world...
and Indian regions, is a priority area for the Working group.
New Delhi agenda for cooperation
Yashwant Sinha, Celso Amorim and Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa respectively, met in New Delhi on 4 and 5 March 2004 for the first meeting of the Trilateral Commission of the IBSA Dialogue Forum. The following issues were discussed:United Nations reforms
The ministers were of the view that the current composition of the UN Security Council is not representative of the current world scenario. They highlighted the need for bringing about reforms which would make the Security council reflect the contemporary realities. Toward this end, they emphasised the need for expansion of Security council membership in the permanent as well as non-permanent categories.Peace and security
The ministers took stock of the global security situation and renewed their commitments towards non-proliferation of weapons of mass destructionWeapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
. They agreed to intensify their cooperation at the IAEA with a view to ensure growth and development of use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under appropriate safeguards. On the Israel-Palestine issue
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, the three countries urged an early resumption of dialogue on the basis of UN Security council resolutions, Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
peace Initiative and the Quartet
Quartet on the Middle East
The Quartet on the Middle East, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities involved in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Quartet are the United Nations, the...
roadmap. They reaffirmed their support to the settlement postulated in the UN Security Council Resolution 1397
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1397
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1397, adopted on March 12, 2002, after recalling resolutions 242 and 338 , the Council demanded an end to violence during the Second Intifada between the Israeli and Palestinian sides...
of two sovereign states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secured and recognised borders.
The three countries also had common views with respect to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. They stressed the need to maintain the unity & integrity of Iraq and called for transfer of full sovereignty to the Iraqi people. They were of the view that United Nations need to play a vital role in this context. They also emphasised the urgency of reconstruction in Iraq under a democratically elected sovereign government.
Social Development
The three countries recognised the need to put people in the centre of development. Toward this end, the ministers emphasised the need to formulate people-centric policies which would ensure equitable development. As the three countries have a rich cultural history, strengthening of cultural ties by organising a trilateral cultural fair of music, dance and cinema in Brazil was also discussed. Recalling the Brasilia declaration, the ministers agreed upon the sharing of expertise in diverse areas such as food security, health, education, human rights etc. The Ministers also endorsed a proposal by Brazil to host a seminar on “Economic Growth with Social Equity” with the aim to promote better knowledge among IBSA members of their national policies and strategies to promote economic and social development.Cape Town ministerial communiqué
The foreign ministers of the three countries met in Cape Town on 10 and 11 March 2005 for the second meeting of the Trilateral Commission of the IBSA Dialogue Forum. The following issues were discussed:Millennium review summit
The ministers reiterated their commitments toward achieving the Millennium Development GoalsMillennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
by 2015 as their core strategy in their collective fight against hunger, poverty, and other problems ailing their society. The ministers emphasised that South-South cooperation was essential for achievement of MDGs and they reaffirmed their cooperation under the auspices of IBSA to achieve these targets.
New Partnership for Africa's Development
The ministers resolved to support the economic development of the African Union and strengthen the IBSA partnership in the implementation of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Numerous opportunities exist in the fields of trade & commerce, energy, education, health and the ministers pledged to explore opportunities for trilateral cooperation in these areas.Latin and South American integration
The ministers expressed their support for creation of an Asian-African business summit which would focus on promoting and strengthening the African private sector. They also made a decision to explore ways for closer cooperation with South America. The ministers also welcomed the efforts towards integration in the Latin America and Caribbean region and in this regard recognised the significance of the creation of the South American Community of Nations (CASA).World trade organisation
The ministers agreed to intensify their cooperation in the WTO multilateral trade negotiations in the lead-up to the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005
The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, also known as the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and abbreviated as MC6, was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005...
held in Hong Kong. This cooperation aimed to realise the Doha development agenda and to enhance trade opportunities in a free and fair manner with transparent-rules based multilateral trading system.
IBSA sectoral cooperation
The ministers reviewed the working of sectoral working groups and decided to add two new sectors namely, agriculture and culture. In the context of Information Technology, the ministers were of the view that their governments had many e-governanceE-Governance
Several dimension and related factors influence the definition of eGovernance. The word “electronic” in the term e-Governance implies technology driven governance...
schemes which had many similarities, because of which they might share some information, best practices and identify projects for cooperation.
The ministers agreed for strengthening consultations between the Ministries and Departments of Agriculture in support of IBSA and G-20 trade consultation processes. They decided that a meeting of IBSA experts would be convened in India to define areas for research and training in the field of agriculture. The ministers welcomed the launch of IBSA Business Council, which would work in tandem with the Working group jointly in the areas such as Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises. With regard to promote tourism between the three countries, a mechanism is being explored to examine the possibility of visa waiver or the issuing of visas on arrival for IBSA nationals. Apart from this cooperation in various other sectors were also explored during this meeting.
IBSA facility for hunger and poverty alleviation
The Ministers reviewed the progress made with regard to the operationalisation of the IBSA Facility for Hunger and Poverty Alleviation. They also agreed to commit an additional amount of US$ 1 million to the IBSA fund and launch of the facility in Guinea-BissauGuinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
, which they hoped would raise the profile of the fund amongst private sector and members of civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
. The Ministers agreed that IBSA would approach the Palestinian Authority with an offer to assist it with its reconstruction efforts.
Rio de Janeiro ministerial communiqué
Anand SharmaAnand Sharma
Anand Sharma is the present Union Cabinet Minister for Commerce and Industry of the Government of India. He took charge after outgoing Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi fell into a critical condition due to a cardiac arrest. He was also given the portfolio for Ministry of Textiles on July 12 2011...
, Celso Amorim and Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa respectively, met in Rio de Janeiro on 30 March 2006 for the third meeting of the Trilateral Commission of the IBSA Dialogue Forum. The following issues were raised and discussed:
United Nations reforms
The IBSA countries exchanged their views on UN security council reforms and reiterated their stand that representation of developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America as permanent members in the council was essential. They welcomed the creation of Peacebuilding commissionPeacebuilding Commission
The Peacebuilding Commission was established in December 2005 by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council acting concurrently...
and United Nations Human Rights Council
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
, adding further that now UN reform process must include Security Council reform.
Non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control
The ministers were of the view that multilateral institutions established under various disarmament agreements should be the primary mechanism to achieve the desired objective of disarmament and non-proliferation. They agreed to continue cooperation at IAEA and other forums with regard to peaceful use of atomic energy under suitable safeguards. They also agreed to consider enhancing international civilian nuclear cooperation, with other nations who share similar objectives of non-proliferation. The ministers also hoped for a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear program, within the context of IAEA.International trade
The ministers emphasised the need to unite on the issue of Doha round of negotiations. This is supported by increased consultations, by IBSA delegations, in order to strengthen Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), as well as the establishment of the NAMA-11 whose two main principles are supporting flexibilities for developing countries and balance between NAMA and other areas under negotiation. The Ministers took note of the broader objectives of the European Union proposed Registration, Evaluation and Authorization and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Legislation, in respect of the protection of human health and the environment. They expressed their concern for the consequences REACH may have on the developing economies of the South. Such consequences will negatively affect the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in these countries. The minsters urged the EU to give due consideration to these consequences and also ensure that REACH does not become a Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT)Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade--- commonly referred to as the TBT Agreement --- is an international treaty administered by the World Trade Organization...
.
IBSA facility fund for hunger and poverty alleviation
The fundamental character IBSA fund is to disseminate the best practices in alleviation of poverty and hunger. The ministers reaffirmed the importance of participation of institutions— governmental as well as non-governmental—in projects financed by the fund. They also recommended that UNDP, as an administrator of the fund, find means to make it possible.The ministers also received and accepted the recommendations of Technical Monitoring Committee (TMC) to Guinea Bissau. It urged the UNDP Office in Bissau to work closely with the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation in New York, the Coordinator of the project and the Guinean Bissau national authorities. The ministers agreed with the committee's recommendation of signing additional agreements with UNDP in order to clarify rights and obligations of both parties.
IBSA sectoral cooperation
The member countries made a pledge to promote the production and use of biofuels as a clean and ecofriendly alternative. More emphasis will be placed on exchange of information in areas of energy conservation and hydrogen energy. The ministers stressed the need to boost trade relations among the three nations. Keeping this in perspective, they expressed their satisfaction that Mercosur will be proposing to Southern African Customs Union and India the creation of a Working Group to explore the modalities of a Trilateral Free Trade Agreement (T-FTA) among them. Specific areas of agriculture have also been identified for trilateral cooperation. These include research and capacity building, agricultural trade, rural development and poverty alleviation.IBSA trade and investment forum
The attending delegations were of the opinion that trade relations between the three nations can strengthen the South-South union. Substitution of imports from northern countries by imports from southern countries was suggested as a feasible solution towards attaining the said objective. Logistics, custom procedures, lack of information and distances were identified as main barriers which needed to be eliminated for the trilateral trade to flourish.The logistics problem was sought to be solved by suggestion of a study to further address the issue. Problems regarding customs procedures were sought to be tackled by ensuring more cooperation among the governmental institutions in order to simplify many regulations and streamlining the process. The private sector was also of the view that number of flights between India, Brazil and South Africa need to be increased, which eliminate the barrier of distances and lack of information.
Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding
The following agreements have been signed so far:- MoU on Agriculture and Allied Fields
- MoU on Biofuels
- Agreement on Merchant Shipping and Other Maritime Transport Matters
- Action Plan on Trade Facilitation for Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment
- MoU Framework for Cooperation on the Information Society
BRICS
South Africa sought to join BRICBRIC
In economics, BRIC is a grouping acronym that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which are all deemed to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development...
starting August 2010 and in December 2010 was officially invited to join. South Africa attended the April 2011 summit, and the group is now known as BRICS
BRICS
BRICS is an international political organisation of leading emerging economies, arising out of the inclusion of South Africa into the BRIC group in 2010. As of 2011, its five members are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa...
, with S standing for South Africa. BRICS now represents a superset of the countries that IBSA represents.
See also
- 2010 BRIC summit2010 BRIC summitThe 2010 BRIC summit took place in Brasilia, Brazil on April 16, 2010. This was the second BRIC summit after Yekaterinburg in 2009. The meeting took place between the four heads of government from the BRIC states following bilateral meetings in the prior days....
- IBSAMAR, joint military exercises conducted by the Indian, Brazilian and South African navies.