BuaNews (Tshwane)
6 October 2008
Pretoria — President Kgalema Motlanthe is expected to attend the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Summit in New Delhi, India next week.
The third IBSA summit is expected to look at ways to jointly meet the challenges of energy and food security as well as global economic governance and development.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are expected to also attend.
While the Heads of State will meet on 15 October, business leaders from the three countries will meet on 13 and 14 October to discuss trilateral cooperation in business.
IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between the three countries aimed at promoting South-South cooperation and exchange.
The summit will also see the countries sign an agreement on tourism. The countries will commit to promoting cooperation among the three countries in the area of tourism as well as provide better understanding, goodwill and friendship in various sectors.
They will discuss an exchange programme for students and faculties between leading academic institutions in the tourism sector for tourism manpower development.
Last week, the three countries pledged to enhance their coordination on political and multilateral issues including reform of global governance institutions on the sidelines of the United Nation General Assembly in New York. This would make them more representative and democratic.
The Foreign Ministers of all three countries - Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Pranab Mukherjee of India and Celso Amorim of Brazil, also discussed the improving mechanism to streamline and fast-track disbursement of funds from the India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSADF) to the least developed nations.
The Ministers had discussions on global issues including those connected with the India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSADF).
In a statement they issued after their meeting the three countries approved support for five more projects in addition to two existing ones in solid waste management in Haiti and agriculture developing in Guinea-Bissau.
'The new project approved for support included phase two of agriculture development in Guinea-Bissau, strengthening infrastructure and capacity to combat HIV/AIDS in Burundi, irrigation and watershed management in Lao People's Democratic Republic," the ministers said in a statement.
They also approved refurbishment of health care infrastructure in Cape Verde and building of a sports facility to promote constructive youth engagement in Palestine.
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