India is hosting the sixth IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Summit in New Delhi on June 6.
The Summit in New Delhi will commemorate the 10th anniversary of establishment of IBSA. It also assumes special importance as being the last Summit in the Second cycle of IBSA Summit.
The Summit will be preceded by a number of meetings of Joint Working Groups and People-to-People Forums.
IBSA is a unique forum, which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three different continents, facing similar challenges.
All three countries are developing, pluralistic, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious nations.
The idea of establishing IBSA was discussed at a meeting between the then Prime Minister of India and the then Presidents of Brazil and South Africa in Evian on June 2, 2003 on the margins of the G-8 Summit. The grouping was formalized and named the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia on June 6, 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.
Cooperation in IBSA is on three fronts: first, as a forum for consultation and coordination on global and regional political issues, such as, the reform of the global institutions of political and economic governance, WTO/Doha Development Agenda, climate change, terrorism etc.; second, trilateral collaboration on concrete areas/projects, through fourteen working groups and six People-to-People Forums, for the common benefit of three countries; and third, assisting other developing countries by taking up projects in the latter through IBSA Fund.
The success of IBSA reflects an important demonstration effect. It demonstrates, most vividly, the desirability and feasibility of South-South cooperation beyond the conventional areas of exchange of experts and training.
The success of IBSA in contributing to discourse on global issues also shows the importance of engaging with the countries of the South. (ANI)