IBSA summit to further strengthen trade ties

Events leading up to the summit, to be held at the Presidential Guesthouse on 17 October, will provide a platform for the formation of trilateral business partnerships aimed at enhancing existing trade between the three member states.

Speaking at a press briefing Tuesday, Ambassador Jerry Matjila, Head of the Asia and Middle East Section in the Department of Foreign Affairs said that since the formation of IBSA in 2003, trade between the three countries has increased to between US$6 - 7 billion.

“IBSA is about business. IBSA is about unlocking the potential of the south,” said Matjila.

A business forum will form a major component of events leading up to the one-day summit and will see over 200 business people from India, Brazil and South Africa attending the discussion groups at the Sandton Convention Centre on 15 and 16 October.

Matjila said it was a chance for them to form trilateral companies especially in emerging opportunities in the transport, maritime and aviation sector.

He said the increased volume of air traffic had resulted in plans for Indian airline, Jet Airlines, to fly to OR Tambo International Airport soon and government hoped that the private sector would move into this area.

Other discussions taking place in Sandton include technology, a Parliamentary forum which members of Parliament from the three member states in attendance, an academic forum and a women's forum, which will focus on gender economic inclusivity.

Feedback from all the forums will be given to the three heads of state, President Thabo Mbeki, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the summit.

Matjila also said that the heads of state will most likely be signing six agreements during the summit related to public administration, higher education, health and medicines, social development, cultural cooperation and energy.

In terms of energy, he said new working groups on climate change has been discussed by IBSA delegations over the last two years.

He said South Africa was looking into the use of biofuels and wanted to learn from Brazil, a country which currently uses almost 40% biofuels.

IBSA currently has 14 working groups, with transport and energy being two of the key groups.

The ambassador said government hoped the agreements would be accompanied by programmes of action to implement them.

Also on the agenda for the summit is the IBSA Fund to which each member state contributes US$1 million dollars annually.

Ambassador Matjila said the fund, a rapid response fund providing money to projects where funds usually take a long time to be made available, would be evaluated and South Africa would put forward suggestions regarding countries, such as Burundi.

The purpose of the IBSA fund is to implement duplicable, phased projects in needy developing countries.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews