A new axis

India and South Africa have become close allies in the past decade — but it was not always so. Mahatma Gandhi’s brushes with South African racism are well known, and independent India was an early and vocal critic of apartheid.

‘Our links with South Africa may stretch back several centuries,” said the Indian high commissioner to South Africa, Rajiv Bhatia. ‘But it only really picked up momentum after 1994 when the apartheid government was demolished and the new government took over.”

The development of the India-Brazil-South Africa (Ibsa) axis gives an extra dimension to the relationship, signifying the growth of a common perspective.

Bhatia is keen to highlight key areas of shared concern. They read like a ‘to-do” list the international community struggles with everyday: nuclear energy, the expansion of the United Nations Security Council, reform of the UN, poverty, terrorism and cooperation top the mutual concerns.

Ibsa is envisaged as more than talk shop on global affairs. It has four dimensions: political dialogue, international trade, climate change, and democracy and governance structures. Women, business, civil society and academics now form part of the Ibsa project.

Said Bhatia: ‘Governments cannot do everything, they represent people, so it was decided to enlarge the Ibsa relationship to include groups outside government. There are similarities between business and women leaders in the three countries, which can be explored for mutually beneficial results.”

For Bhatia, each member state has political weight in its own region and brings its own development expertise to the forum. India is major player in the ICT field, while South Africa leads in the production of synthetic fuels and Brazil’s strength is biofuels.

Another common denominator is agriculture, seen as a key to greater self-sufficiency and reduced reliance on the developed world. In the spotlight is a possible free trade zone, but Bhatvia warns that such an arrangement must protect the interests the entire South.

‘Ibsa is helping countries of the South to be in a better position to talk to countries of the North,” said Bhatia. ‘Emerging economies are a source of great interest to the larger and more established countries.”

Of concern to the three states is the balance of power in the UN, favouring the North. ‘The UN is not currently adequate to address the problems the world faces and risks losing its credibility in the long run,” Bhatia said.