President Thabo Mbeki to host Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Lula da Silva for IBSA Summit in Pretoria, Wednesday, 17 October 2007

 Pretoria – South African President Thabo Mbeki will on Wednesday 17 October 2007 in a historic first host  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and Brazilian President Lula da Silva for the strategic Trilateral India – Brazil – South Africa (IBSA) Summit at the Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria. This will be the first time South Africa hosts the IBSA Summit since its inception.

The Summit of Heads of State and Government will be preceded by an IBSA Ministerial Working Breakfast hosted by Minister Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma with her counterparts from India and Brazil, Foreign Ministers Shri Pranab Mukherjee and Dr Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

It is expected that a number of trilateral agreements will be signed following the meeting of Heads of State and Government focusing on shipping, ICT and  energy

India-Brazil-SA have very vibrant democracies, common views on major global issues and are substantial players in their respective sub-regional economies.  Collectively India, Brazil and South Africa have a population of over 1.3 billion people and a combined market of almost US$2 trillion.

Accordingly, issues on the agenda of discussions between the Heads of State and Government and various working groups on Wednesday 17 October 2007 are expected to include, ways in which to increase trilateral economic, trade and investment to reflect the strong and substantial political relations between the three countries with a view to pushing back the frontiers of poverty and underdevelopment and creating better lives for the peoples of all three continents in particular and the South in general. 

Some of these discussions will also revolve around improving the air and sea connectivity between the three countries with a view to ensuring air and maritime connectivity between the three regions and their continents. The three countries have already signed an agreement on aviation and maritime.

The three Heads of State and Government will also, during the Summit receive reports from representatives of the various IBSA working groups including business, academics, the parliamentary forum, the civil society forum and the women’s forum.

On conclusion of the IBSA Summit President Mbeki is expected to hold bilateral discussions with the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and the President of Brazil Lula da Silva respectively.

Issues on the agenda of discussions are expected to include, among others:

• The status of bilateral political, economic and trade relations between the two countries;
• Developments with regard to the World Trade Organisation negotiations and the conclusion of the Doha Development Round;
• Progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; and
• The comprehensive reform of the United Nations system.

Programme for IBSA Summit

Issued by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853

Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
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 16 October 2007