‘IBSA needs to focus more on achievable outcomes’

Mbeki says the next summit should concentrate more on yielding achievable outcomes

South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki says the next India, Brazil, South Africa Heads of State summit should concentrate more on yielding achievable outcomes on how to put issues related to social development on the global agenda. South Africa hosted the second IBSA Heads of State summit which ended in Pretoria yesterday.

The IBSA Dialogue Forum represents three important poles for galvanizing South-South cooperation and greater understanding between three important continents of the developing world namely, Africa, Asia and Latin America. The forum provides the three countries with a platform to engage in discussions for cooperation in the field of agriculture, trade, culture, and defence, among others.

The forum plays an increasingly important role in the foreign policies of India, Brazil and South Africa. It has become instrumental for promoting ever closer coordination on global issues between three large multicultural and multiracial democracies of Asia, South America and Africa.