The tripartite dialogue forum of India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) could become a symbol for cooperation between developing countries, Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said on Friday.
Such countries did not have enough cooperation among themselves, added South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma at a news conference in Pretoria.
”We can really, without ignoring the North, do a lot in the South,” she said.
”If we put our energies together we’ll be stronger to bargain with the North.”
Their remarks came after the SA-India joint ministerial meeting earlier on Friday where the IBSA matter featured as well. The forum was formalised at a meeting in Brazil last month.
The first meeting of the trilateral joint commission would take place in India within the next 12 months, Sinha said.
A statement about Friday’s meeting said, with reference to IBSA: ”The ministers emphasised that this historic initiative aims to give new direction and dynamism to South-South relations; that its objective is to explore the potential synergy among like-minded countries from three continents, representing large, vibrant democracies with strong economies and rich human resources.”
Dlamini-Zuma said the co-operation would benefit the people of the three countries.
”Such multilateral cooperation naturally reinforces our relationship at the bilateral level, and vice versa, and provides added impetus to the way in which South Africa and India address the social and economic inequalities and disparities that are common, not only to us, but to the developing world as a whole.”
President Thabo Mbeki’s state visit to India in October would add further impetus to the expanding and deepening political and economic relationship between the two countries, she said.
Among of the issues that still needed to be addressed, according to Sinha, was to speed up the ongoing discussions on a preferential trade agreement between India and the Southern African Customs Union (comprising South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia).
He said the cultural exchanges between the two countries had been mostly one-sided, with Indian culture having been brought to South Africa, and not much happening from South Africa’s side.
Bilateral trade in 2002 was 29% higher than the previous year, the statement said.
”The two ministers emphasised the need for increasing mutual investments and agreed that there is still substantial potential for capitalising on individual strengths such as South Africa’s mining prowess and India’s strengths in the field of information and communications technology and pharmaceuticals.”
According to Sinha, South Africa and India had done a great deal in the 10 years of their relationship.
”I hope in the next 10 years we can make up for the lost years.”
Dlamini-Zuma said: ”We consider the past 10 years as time to taxi on the tarmac to gain enough momentum and speed to lift off. The next decade is for flying. I’m sure we’re ready to fly.” – Sapa