IBSA summit begins, PM says govt and business must work together

Brasilia, Sep 13 (UNI) The first India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit held here today came up with a bold and comprehensive agenda of cooperation among the three countries designed to address their common problems of poverty and underdevelopment and give the grouping a powerful voice in international affairs.

The summit, attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, decided to develop institutional and business linkages in areas such as energy, sustainable development, trade, transportation and science and technology.

On nuclear energy, an area of vital interest to India, IBSA lent its support for "forward looking approaches to enhance international civilian nuclear cooperation." "The idea of IBSA is without precedent. Three countries, from three different continents, coming together to consult and coordinate on global issues of common concern. They are also collaborating in ways that strengthen their respective national efforts to address developmental challenges," Dr Singh said in his address to the plenary session of the summit.

He said despite the geographical distances that separated the three countries, there was much they had in common.

"All three of us belong to the developing world. We are pluralistic and multi-cultural societies. We are the largest democracies respectively on each of our continents and these values bind us in a unique way. Our three countries are committed to economic growth, with social equity and inclusion. We also accept the responsibilities that come with the role that is expected of us by the international community. It is these commonalities that provide the basis for the success of our venture," Dr Singh said.

Dr Singh and Presidents Lula and Mbeki met in a restricted summit for an hour this morning before meeting with CEOs of major companies from the three countries. Later, they went into the plenary session.

At the meeting with the CEOs, the three leaders called for joint action by governments and the business community to address the many developmental problems afflicting millions in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma and National Security Adviser M K Narayanan were part of the Indian delegation to the summit.

The Prime Minister said the holding of the historic summit confirmed the success of the IBSA experiment launched three years ago. He said it showed that there, indeed, was a shared vision that united the three countries.

He said that the utility of IBSA to the world community was evident in the leadership that the three countries had provided to the G-20 in the WTO trade negotiations.

"While success still eludes us in the Doha Round, we can derive satisfaction from the role that we have played in facilitating coalition building on difficult trade issues," he said.

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