IBSAIBSA , India Braszil South Africa

Established in June 2003, IBSA is a coordinating mechanism amongst three emerging countries, three multiethnic and multicultural democracies, which are determined to contribute to the construction of a new international architecture, to bring their voice together on global issues and to deepen their ties in various areas. IBSA also opens itself to concrete projects of cooperation and partnership with less developed countries

The establishment of IBSA was formalized by the Brasilia Declaration, which mentions India, Brazil and South Africa democratic credentials, their condition as developing nations and their capacity of acting on a global scale as the main reasons for the three countries to come together.  Their status as middle powers, their common need to address social inequalities within their borders and the existence of consolidated industrial areas in the three countries are often mentioned as additional elements that bring convergence amongst the members of the Forum.

IBSA concluded its first round of Summits of Heads of State and Government Summits in 2008.  Over the years, IBSA has become an umbrella for various initiatives, both in the diplomatic field and in Public Administration sectors. Thus, the Group has also become an instrument for connecting India, Brazil and South Africa at all levels, aiming not only to increase these countries’ projection on the international scenario but to strengthen the relations amongst themselves.

IBSA keeps an open and flexible structure. It does not have a headquarter nor a permanent executive secretariat. At the highest level, in counts on the Summits of Heads of State and Government, whose last edition occured on April 15th, 2010, in Brasília. The next Summit is scheduled to occur on October 18th and 19th, 2011, in South Africa.

Additionally, Foreign Ministers meet about once a year to preside the Joint Commissions of the Forum. Six have taken place up to this date:

- 1st: March 5th, 2004, in New Delhi;
- 2nd: March 3rd, 2005, in Cape Town;
- 3rd: March 30th, 2006, in Rio de Janeiro;
- 4th: July 16th and 17th, 2007, in New Delhi;
- 5th: May 11th, 2008,in Somerset West;
- 6th: August 31st to September 1st, 2009, in Brasília.

- 7th: March 8th, 2011, in New Delhi.

Communiqués and declarations that consolidate common positions about global issues have been issued at the Summits and at the Joint Commissions, as well as in occasions when Foreign Ministers meet at the margins of the UN General Assembly.

The work of monitoring and coordinating the IBSA activities is a responsibility of Senior Officials of the Foreign Ministers, known as Focal Points.

In summary, the progress of the activities can be divided into four tracks:
I. Political Coordination
II. Sectoral Cooperation, through 16 Working Groups
III. IBSA Fund for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger
IV. Involvement of other actors beyond the Executive, e.g. :parliamentarians, Constitution courts, civil society, businessmen and opinion makers.

I.POLITICAL COORDINATION

The IBSA Forum has achieved important results in terms of political cooperation. So far, three declarations of Heads of State and Government and thirteen Ministerial Communiqués (six of the Joint Commissions and other seven from ad hoc meetings), have been issued. They constitute a repository of common positions about a wide range of global issues.

Meetings amongst IBSA representatives have also been held at the margins of multilateral forums (e.g. Human Rights Council, WTO, WIPO, Antarctic Treaty, Conference for the Reconstruction of Palestine), as a means to reinforce the positions of mutual interest.

II. SECTORAL COOPERATION

The following Working Groups were established with the objective of deepening the mutual knowledge and exploring common points of interest on sectoral areas:

- Public Administration;
- Revenue Administration;
- Agriculture;
- Human Settlements;

- Science and Technology (includes Antarctic Research);
- Trade and Investment;
- Culture;
- Defense;
- Information Society;
- Social Development;
- Education;
- Energy;
- Environment and Climate Change;
- Health;
- Transport; and
- Tourism.

Within the Working Groups, agreements and Memoranda of Understandings were signed, in order to legally support the cooperation. As of 2010, twelve of such documents were in force:
- Public Administration and Governance;
- Revenue Administration;
- Biofuels;
- Cultural Cooperation;
- Superior Education;
- Social Issues;
- Eolic Energy;
- Health and Medicine;
- Human Settlements;
- Environment;
- Civil Aviation; and
- Woman Development and Gender Equality.

Furthermore, further five Memoranda were signed and are currently subject to ratification :

- Merchant Shipping and other Maritime Transport;
- Trade;
- Information Society;
- Agriculture;
- Tourism.

III. IBSA Fund

The IBSA Fund aims at supporting viable and replicable projects that, based on the capabilities available in the IBSA countries and in their internal best practices, contribute to the national priorities of other developing countries. In addition to that, projects intend to serve as examples of best practices for the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Each country currently contributes with US$ 1 million per year for the Fund. Three projects have been concluded. In Haiti, a solid waste collection project is considered the first to help transform the community of Carrefour-Feuilles, one of the high-social risk areas of Port au Prince, into an example of post-conflict redevelopment. Diminishing infectious diseases and flood risks, generating jobs and income and raising awareness on environmental problems were considered the main outputs of the project. In Guinea-Bissau, the introduction of new seeds and the capacity building in improved agricultural techniques allowed for, among other results, a second annual harvest of rice in the communities attended. In Cape Verde, the refurbishment of two local, isolated health units was supported by IBSA, with the employment of local workers.

In 2009, a workshop on HIV policies was held in Burundi, starting a new initiative yet to be concluded. New projects include the construction of a Sports Complex in Ramallah , a direct consequence of the coordination of positions among the three countries in matters related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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IV. OTHER INITIATIVES

Aiming at deepening the relationship between the societies in India, Brazil and South Africa, other instances have been created for promoting the exchange of ideas and cooperation:
- Seminaries on Social Development;
- Businessmen’s Forum;
- Women’s Forum;
- Parliamentary Forum;
- Academic Seminaries;
- Editors´ Forum;
- Constitutional Courts Meeting; and
- Cultural Events.