Speech by the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Ambassador Celso Amorim, at the meeting of the Ministerial Commision of the IBSA Forum — New Delhi, India, 17 July 2007.

Your Excellency Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs of India,

Your Excellency Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa,

Distinguished Delegates,

It is always a pleasure for me to be in India, especially among so dear friends. This meeting marks my third visit to New Delhi this year. The Brazilian delegation to the fourth session of IBSA's Ministerial Commission included a significant number of officials, both diplomats and representatives of other areas of government.

I would like to thank you, Minister Mukherjee, for the arrangements that have been made in order to make this occasion a success. Having organized the last meeting of the Commission and the First IBSA Summit, Brazil knows the amount of work involved in preparing these events.

The relevance of this Forum transcends its positive contribution to Indian - Brazilian - South African relations. IBSA has already established a clear identity. Our shared values and visions have allowed us to speak with one voice in several multilateral fora. As the encompassing Joint Communiqué being issued today witnesses, we have converging views in an increasingly large variety of global matters, such as development and trade, UN reform, disarmament and the situation in the Middle East, to mention a few.

The strengthening of IBSA will assist in making the international decision process more democratic and more representative of the largest part of the world population. It was clear in the recent past how better coordination among developing countries can improve our negotiating capacity and help build a multipolar world.

As an innovative alliance among three large, multicultural, democratic developing countries, IBSA is laying the ground for an international system in which the aspirations and views of developing countries are no longer treated as secondary afterthought.

IBSA also aims for an ambitious trade agreement involving Mercosur, the South African Customs Union and India. Brazil attaches great importance to the Working Group that will focus on the modalities for a trilateral India-SACU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement. We believe that its first meeting should be held no later than early September. Brazil will promote this idea with the other Mercosur countries.

When ready, this trilateral arrangement will create the largest unified economic area among developing countries, encompassing 1,5 billion people and a total GDP of more than US$ 2 trillion. We are fully aware that we must be ambitious in terms of trade coverage, but at the same time, flexible in relation to the sensitivities involved, especially those of the smaller economies. We are equally convinced that a broad economic space involving India, SACU and Mercosur would be a powerful force in the world arena.

Dear Ministers,

We are also forging a new approach in South - South cooperation. It must be recognized that the challenges related to trilateral cooperation among developing countries from three different continents are completely different from traditional cooperation arrangements. Having that in mind, I am proud of the results we have achieved so far.

The IBSA Fund for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation is concretely contributing for the enhancement of the living standards in two of the poorest countries in the world - Haiti and Guinea-Bissau. The project in Haiti, for example, focus on the collection of solid waste as a tool for the reduction of violence and for job creation. I would like to underline that the IBSA Fund received the United Nations South Alliance Award, as an example of how South-South cooperation can have an impact in the daily life of people in need.

Brazil looks forward to implementing new projects under the IBSA Fund, like those benefiting Zambia, Burundi and East Timor that were presented in the past months.

We are glad that IBSA is enlarging its spectrum and producing new portfolios of cooperation. Various important subjects are being added to the Forum, such as research in Antarctica, capacity-building in revenue administration and cooperation among training institutes. I congratulate the working groups for advancing the negotiation of new Memoranda of Understanding, covering cooperation in the areas of health, wind energy, higher education and tax and customs matters, which could be signed in the upcoming Summit in South Africa.

Brazil also reaffirms its commitment to inclusiveness. The participation of the Indian, Brazilian and South African private sectors, parliamentarians and civil societies in the dialogue is essential to reflect the diversity and richness of our countries. While making efforts to strengthen the IBSA Business Council, we must be conscious that forming a strong business support for IBSA is a long term challenge. It requires intense work with the private sectors, sometimes changing a business culture that turns them away from each other.

The process is long, but a genuine effort to approach our business communities is already under way. Maybe the bilateral experience of Brazil and India in our CEO Forum can serve both as an inspiration and as an alert of obstacles to overcome. The three countries already have the goal of achieving a total trade of US$ 10 billion for this year. I believe we can go further and aim at US$ 15 billion for 2010.

Dear Colleagues,

In the run-up to the next Summit in South Africa, we encourage that Ministers responsible for each area of cooperation hold trilateral meetings and review the progress made.

IBSA is mastering the art of shortening distances. We have already made tangible progress in establishing our political identity and in structuring a new pattern of South-South cooperation. I invite you to continue in this path. In doing so, we must be attentive not to lose our identity, not to dilute the distinguishing features that make India, Brazil and South Africa such a respected group of developing countries.

Before ending, I would like to refer to the Brazilian offer to host the "First IBSA Music and Dance Festival" in Salvador, Bahia, in October, with the participation of artistic groups of India, Brazil and South Africa. It would be a pleasure to welcome our Indian and South African friends in Brazil once again.

Thank you very much.