r the export and import of cars and spare parts. At the same time, Brazil and India agreed on the sharing of alternative technologies. Rogelio Golfarb, president of the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, which participated in the summit activities as a representative of Brazil's business community said about the summit “All of this is complementation. South Africa specializes in luxury automobiles, and Mercosur is strong in the production of compact cars. India expressed great interest in the production of ethanol fuel (produced from sugar cane) and biodiesel, and Brazil expressed interest in Indian techniques for producing wind and solar energy."

The summit allowed the three countries to stress their points of view on the resumption of the WTO Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, on U.S. Security Council reform to incorporate permanent and rotating members from Latin America, Asia and Africa. The Indian Prime Minister said in the summit, “the usefulness of IBSA in the international community was clear in the le

In the face of challenging pressures to develop an reliable alternative option to globalization—one that emerges from a developing world to put to an end to global marginalization of the poor nations—there has been a new push to redefine political and economic arrangements in recent times. One component of these many recent initiatives is the idea of south-south cooperation

The emergence of the transatlantic links between India, South Africa and Latin America began when the leaders of three countries, India’s Vajpayee, Brazil’s Lula, and South Africa’s Mbeki spearheaded a new approach to south-south cooperation at the 2003 UN General Assembly Forum, resulting in a trilateral India-Brazil-South Africa agreement (IBSA).

According to the SAIIA, IBSA encompasses a total population of 1.3 billion people and an economy of $1.26 trillion. The First meeting of the foreign ministers of IBSA Dialogue Forum was held in New Delhi on March 4 and 5 2004. Issues addressed included social development, disarmament, infrastructure, health care, sustainable economic development, and poverty alleviation.

After successes in the Doha and Cancun rounds of the WTO summits, The heads of IBSA met for the first ever-trilateral summit recently at Brasilia just before the NAM summit. “As emerging economic giants in the developing world, India, Brazil and South Africa account for a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of over one trillion U.S. dollars and it seems set to push the number in an unexploited trilateral market" commented the South African Broadcasting Corporation

"We have a common understanding about what needs to be done, especially in areas like ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and telecommunication,"said Dupree Vilakazi, president of South Africa's National Black Business Council in the summit. The South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said, “Since its establishment in 2003, the IBSA had become instrumental in promoting closer coordination on global issues between South Africa, India and Brazil. The three have become frequent guests of the annual gathering of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries”. "The historic summit was the culmination of three Ministerial Trilateral Joint Commission meetings that have taken place in New Delhi (2004), Cape Town (2005) and Rio de Janeiro (2006), under the leadership of the three foreign ministers," he further said.

South Africa's Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who was in India recently said, “ India was a key strategic partner of South Africa. Both the countries political and economic relations are sound and is based on mutual respect and concerns for each other's development,"

With sound economic bilateral ties with South Africa solidification of the IBSA looks all the more bright. The country has a strong Indian connection. About one million of South Africa's 47 million people are descendants of Indian laborers and immigrants who came to the country in the past century. Many of them are involved in trading business. India's leading enterprise groups such as Tata and Mittal Steel are also investing hugely in South Africa's automobile, mining, telecommunication and other industries. "India is among the top 10 investing countries in South Africa, with investments estimated to the value of 10 billion rand (1.4 billion U.S. dollars)," said Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Annual trade between 2001 and 2005, of India and the Mercosur trade bloc (comprising of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) grew from less than one billion dollars to 2.3 billion. Around the same period trade between India and South Africa climbed 133 percent from 1.3 billion to 3.1 billion dollars. The IBSA negotiations are aimed at raising trilateral trade flows to 10 billion dollars next year.

According to Mbeki, President of South Africa “the adoption of a free trade agreement between these three nations would be an unprecedented step in the world trade system, which means it is essential for it to be taken in an appropriate manner”.

Though a lot more needs to be done the summit saw a good beginning in many areas. Brazil and South Africa adopted a three-year pilot project for the export and import of cars and spare parts. At the same time, Brazil and India agreed on the sharing of alternative technologies. Rogelio Golfarb, president of the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, which participated in the summit activities as a representative of Brazil's business community said about the summit “All of this is complementation. South Africa specializes in luxury automobiles, and Mercosur is strong in the production of compact cars. India expressed great interest in the production of ethanol fuel (produced from sugar cane) and biodiesel, and Brazil expressed interest in Indian techniques for producing wind and solar energy."

The summit allowed the three countries to stress their points of view on the resumption of the WTO Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, on U.S. Security Council reform to incorporate permanent and rotating members from Latin America, Asia and Africa. The Indian Prime Minister said in the summit, “the usefulness of IBSA in the international community was clear in the le

ainable economic development, and poverty alleviation.

After successes in the Doha and Cancun rounds of the WTO summits, The heads of IBSA met for the first ever-trilateral summit recently at Brasilia just before the NAM summit. “As emerging economic giants in the developing world, India, Brazil and South Africa account for a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of over one trillion U.S. dollars and it seems set to push the number in an unexploited trilateral market" commented the South African Broadcasting Corporation

"We have a common understanding about what needs to be done, especially in areas like ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and telecommunication,"said Dupree Vilakazi, president of South Africa's National Black Business Council in the summit. The South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said, “Since its establishment in 2003, the IBSA had become instrumental in promoting closer coordination on global issues between South Africa, India and Brazil. The three have become frequent guests of the annual gathering of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries”. "The historic summit was the culmination of three Ministerial Trilateral Joint Commission meetings that have taken place in New Delhi (2004), Cape Town (2005) and Rio de Janeiro (2006), under the leadership of the three foreign ministers," he further said.

South Africa's Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who was in India recently said, “ India was a key strategic partner of South Africa. Both the countries political and economic relations are sound and is based on mutual respect and concerns for each other's development,"

With sound economic bilateral ties with South Africa solidification of the IBSA looks all the more bright. The country has a strong Indian connection. About one million of South Africa's 47 million people are descendants of Indian laborers and immigrants who came to the country in the past century. Many of them are involved in trading business. India's leading enterprise groups such as Tata and Mittal Steel are also investing hugely in South Africa's automobile, mining, telecommunication and other industries. "India is among the top 10 investing countries in South Africa, with investments estimated to the value of 10 billion rand (1.4 billion U.S. dollars)," said Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Annual trade between 2001 and 2005, of India and the Mercosur trade bloc (comprising of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) grew from less than one billion dollars to 2.3 billion. Around the same period trade between India and South Africa climbed 133 percent from 1.3 billion to 3.1 billion dollars. The IBSA negotiations are aimed at raising trilateral trade flows to 10 billion dollars next year.

According to Mbeki, President of South Africa “the adoption of a free trade agreement between these three nations would be an unprecedented step in the world trade system, which means it is essential for it to be taken in an appropriate manner”.

Though a lot more needs to be done the summit saw a good beginning in many areas. Brazil and South Africa adopted a three-year pilot project for the export and import of cars and spare parts. At the same time, Brazil and India agreed on the sharing of alternative technologies. Rogelio Golfarb, president of the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, which participated in the summit activities as a representative of Brazil's business community said about the summit “All of this is complementation. South Africa specializes in luxury automobiles, and Mercosur is strong in the production of compact cars. India expressed great interest in the production of ethanol fuel (produced from sugar cane) and biodiesel, and Brazil expressed interest in Indian techniques for producing wind and solar energy."

The summit allowed the three countries to stress their points of view on the resumption of the WTO Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, on U.S. Security Council reform to incorporate permanent and rotating members from Latin America, Asia and Africa. The Indian Prime Minister said in the summit, “the usefulness of IBSA in the international community was clear in the le

annual gathering of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries”. "The historic summit was the culmination of three Ministerial Trilateral Joint Commission meetings that have taken place in New Delhi (2004), Cape Town (2005) and Rio de Janeiro (2006), under the leadership of the three foreign ministers," he further said.

South Africa's Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who was in India recently said, “ India was a key strategic partner of South Africa. Both the countries political and economic relations are sound and is based on mutual respect and concerns for each other's development,"

With sound economic bilateral ties with South Africa solidification of the IBSA looks all the more bright. The country has a strong Indian connection. About one million of South Africa's 47 million people are descendants of Indian laborers and immigrants who came to the country in the past century. Many of them are involved in trading business. India's leading enterprise groups such as Tata and Mittal Steel are also investing hugely in South Africa's automobile, mining, telecommunication and other industries. "India is among the top 10 investing countries in South Africa, with investments estimated to the value of 10 billion rand (1.4 billion U.S. dollars)," said Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Annual trade between 2001 and 2005, of India and the Mercosur trade bloc (comprising of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) grew from less than one billion dollars to 2.3 billion. Around the same period trade between India and South Africa climbed 133 percent from 1.3 billion to 3.1 billion dollars. The IBSA negotiations are aimed at raising trilateral trade flows to 10 billion dollars next year.

According to Mbeki, President of South Africa “the adoption of a free trade agreement between these three nations would be an unprecedented step in the world trade system, which means it is essential for it to be taken in an appropriate manner”.

Though a lot more needs to be done the summit saw a good beginning in many areas. Brazil and South Africa adopted a three-year pilot project for the export and import of cars and spare parts. At the same time, Brazil and India agreed on the sharing of alternative technologies. Rogelio Golfarb, president of the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, which participated in the summit activities as a representative of Brazil's business community said about the summit “All of this is complementation. South Africa specializes in luxury automobiles, and Mercosur is strong in the production of compact cars. India expressed great interest in the production of ethanol fuel (produced from sugar cane) and biodiesel, and Brazil expressed interest in Indian techniques for producing wind and solar energy."

The summit allowed the three countries to stress their points of view on the resumption of the WTO Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, on U.S. Security Council reform to incorporate permanent and rotating members from Latin America, Asia and Africa. The Indian Prime Minister said in the summit, “the usefulness of IBSA in the international community was clear in the le

South Africa's automobile, mining, telecommunication and other industries. "India is among the top 10 investing countries in South Africa, with investments estimated to the value of 10 billion rand (1.4 billion U.S. dollars)," said Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Annual trade between 2001 and 2005, of India and the Mercosur trade bloc (comprising of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) grew from less than one billion dollars to 2.3 billion. Around the same period trade between India and South Africa climbed 133 percent from 1.3 billion to 3.1 billion dollars. The IBSA negotiations are aimed at raising trilateral trade flows to 10 billion dollars next year.

According to Mbeki, President of South Africa “the adoption of a free trade agreement between these three nations would be an unprecedented step in the world trade system, which means it is essential for it to be taken in an appropriate manner”.

Though a lot more needs to be done the summit saw a good beginning in many areas. Brazil and South Africa adopted a three-year pilot project for the export and import of cars and spare parts. At the same time, Brazil and India agreed on the sharing of alternative technologies. Rogelio Golfarb, president of the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, which participated in the summit activities as a representative of Brazil's business community said about the summit “All of this is complementation. South Africa specializes in luxury automobiles, and Mercosur is strong in the production of compact cars. India expressed great interest in the production of ethanol fuel (produced from sugar cane) and biodiesel, and Brazil expressed interest in Indian techniques for producing wind and solar energy."

The summit allowed the three countries to stress their points of view on the resumption of the WTO Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, on U.S. Security Council reform to incorporate permanent and rotating members from Latin America, Asia and Africa. The Indian Prime Minister said in the summit, “the usefulness of IBSA in the international community was clear in the le

r the export and import of cars and spare parts. At the same time, Brazil and India agreed on the sharing of alternative technologies. Rogelio Golfarb, president of the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers, which participated in the summit activities as a representative of Brazil's business community said about the summit “All of this is complementation. South Africa specializes in luxury automobiles, and Mercosur is strong in the production of compact cars. India expressed great interest in the production of ethanol fuel (produced from sugar cane) and biodiesel, and Brazil expressed interest in Indian techniques for producing wind and solar energy."

The summit allowed the three countries to stress their points of view on the resumption of the WTO Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, on U.S. Security Council reform to incorporate permanent and rotating members from Latin America, Asia and Africa. The Indian Prime Minister said in the summit, “the usefulness of IBSA in the international community was clear in the leadership role that the three countries played in the Group of 20 (G20) developing nations in the WTO negotiations”

Brazil and India signed a multi-million dollar trade agreement to improve co-operation between the two major emerging economies. The areas of the deal involved technology and alternative energy source development. One of the central joint projects signed with Brazil was in developing ethanol fuel as an alternative to oil. Both agreed to create the Joint Committee on Bio-fuels. Brazil, which taps into its huge sugar cane production to make ethanol, announced that it would help India and South Africa produce the alternative fuel. “Indian companies from both public and private sector have evinced interest in exploring production opportunities in Brazil to meet the anticipated growth in ethanol use in India for both industrial as well as automobile use,” Said Dr Singh in the joint statement.

For the year 2005-06 Brazil’s exports to India soared to 1.1 billion dollars, a 75 percent increase over 2004, according to official Brazilian figures. Imports from India totaled 1.2 billion dollars, a 116 percent rise.

The Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, “Since then, we have worked intensely in various fronts to deepen our political and economic alliance, which we have now decided to elevate to strategic partnership status”. On similar lines the Indian Prime Minister Dr Singh said, “India and Brazil are large, pluralistic democracies. Our economic growth is broad-based and multifaceted. This provides opportunities for expansion of our bilateral trade and economic relations.”

On the issue of Civilian Nuclear Deal with USA both Brazil and South Africa assured India of full support though details were not available. This is again a very historic achievement

With a strong foundation a small beginning has been made for IBSA and if it works out successfully it can create huge opportunities not only for the nations concerned but can also change the face of global politics.

Dr Suvrokamal Dutta

(The writer is a renowned Foreign Affairs and Economic Expert)

Contact: Sk_dutta70@yahoo.com