Three continents, one goal

The first meeting of the trilateral commission consisting of the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa took place in the first...

The first meeting of the trilateral commission consisting of the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa took place in the first week of March in New Delhi. It is significant that the Brazilian minister has made three trips to Delhi in the last five months. One was his official visit last October, later he came with President Lula and now he was here for the trilateral joint commission.

During the visit of External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha to Brazil last June, the seed was sown for the formation of a new group called the IBSA Dialogue Forum. It is important to note that this was the first visit of an Indian foreign minister to Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world in terms of area 8.5 million sq km with a population of 176 million it accounts for about 50 per cent of the population and GDP of Latin America. Even so, Sinha was especially impressed by the interest shown by Brazilian President Louiz Inacio Lula da Silva in building relations with India.

Bilateral trade between Brazil and India is estimated at 1.2 billion. From 1999 to 2002 there was a jump of 300 per cent in Indian exports to Brazil. In 2002 Brazilian exports increased by more than 120 per cent while Indian exports increased from 540 million to 570 million. India registered a trade surplus in 2000 and 2001 while in 2002 Brazil registered one. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer signed an agreement with Jet Airways in July 2002 to sell ten 78-seater aircraft for 260 million, deliveries to commence from 2004.

The GDP of South Africa stands at 132 billion. The volume of bilateral trade between India and South Africa is around 1.5 billion. South Africa8217;s exports are in the region of 1.1 billion and India8217;s around 400 million.

One of the most important decisions taken during this trilateral meeting was to hold regular meetings of the three foreign ministers. They have also recommended a summit-level meeting. This could take place either to coincide with the UN General Assembly or in one of the countries. Another important decision has been the formation of a trilateral joint commission which will be co-chaired by the foreign ministers.

Sinha says that the proposal for the trilateral meeting came from Brazil and South Africa. After the signing of the Brasilia declaration on June 6, 2003, dialogue is to be supplemented by other ministerial meetings in areas like science and technology, transportation, civil aviation and defence.

The success of the IBSA Dialogue Forum will depend upon how much importance each country attaches to this initiative and the subsequent actions they take to strengthen this forum. If properly nurtured, it could boost the interests of developing countries. The Group of 77 is eagerly tracking the birth and growth of this new organisation. As Sinha put it, the three ministers have great expectations from the grouping as it represents three important countries representing the aspirations of developing countries of three continents. He felt that if it can bring them closer by launching transportation and civil aviation corridors, FTAs and joint R038;D projects in science and technology, South-South cooperation will be significantly enlarged.

Story continues below this ad

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorin, however, has clarified that IBSA will remain a group of three countries for the time being. He added that although Russia had shown interest in associating with IBSA, it would be advantageous to stick to the G-3 core because increasing membership at this stage could lead to some problems. He felt that even on the issue of nuclear proliferation, the three countries could come to a consensus.

Defence cooperation would be another priority for India, Brazil and South Africa. In addition, Amorin noted that although the Brazilian airline Varig does not fly to India, there are plans to connect India and South Africa. He also said that the business bodies of the three countries could form a trilateral business commission.

As Sinha said, the message of the forum is that in this globalised world, there are no geographic barriers to cooperation and we need to interact with each other globally on the emerging issues of global political, economic and security concern.

The writer is a former ambassador to Brazil