India, Brazil, SA Foreign Ministers to Meet in New Delhi,
India
Pretoria - South African Foreign Minister Dr Nkosazana
Dlamini Zuma will on Saturday, 14 July 2007 depart for India, where she will join
her counterparts from India and Brazil for the (IBSA) Ministerial Summit scheduled
for 14-17 July in New Delhi.
Minister Dlamini Zuma will attend the IBSA
Ministerial Summit within the context of South Africa's commitment to consolidating
strategic political, economic and trade relations with Brazil and India within
the framework of advancing South-South relations.
Critical to note is that
the Ministerial Summit in New Delhi will be held with a view to preparations for
the IBSA Heads of state and Government Summit scheduled for October this year
in South Africa. In this regard, the Ministerial Summit in New Delhi is expected
to discuss among others:
Deepening South-South dialogue and cooperation
within IBSA.
Assessment of achievements/ failures thus far in terms of
the broad range of IBSA cooperation areas in technology, information and skills
transfers, social development, poverty alleviation and job creation.
Discussions
on the formation of a new Sect oral Working Group within the area of Revenue Administration
Evaluation
of the projects implemented through the IBSA Trust Fund, as well as to consider
new proposals.
In addition, the Ministerial Summit is also expected
to evaluate the progress within the fourteen Working Groups of IBSA that have
been formed in the following areas of sectoral cooperation: Trade; Information
Society; Science and Technology; Transport; Energy; Health; Tourism; Agriculture;
Education; Cultural Issues; Defence; Social Development; Public Administration;
and Climate Change.
Agreements thus far signed under the auspices of
IBSA
At the first IBSA Summit which took place in Brasilia, Brazil in
September 2006, the following Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding between
the three countries were concluded:
Renewable Energies (Bio-fuels),
Trade Facilitation for Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity
Assessment,
Maritime Transportation, Co-operation in Agriculture and
·Allied Fields, and Co-operation in the Information ·Society Bilateral
trade statistics:
South Africa - Brazil (SA Rand)
Year
SA
Exports (R'000 000)
SA Imports (R'000 000)
Total
Trade
2003
1,338,188,000
5,343,996,000
6,682,184,000
2004
1,562,499,000
6,413,675,000
7,976,174,000
2005
2,034,310,000
8,341,326,000
10,375,636,000
2006
2,750,824,000
9,382,777,000
-6,631,953,000
South
Africa - India (SA Rand)
Year
SA
Exports (R'000 000)
SA Imports (R'000 000)
Total
Trade
2003
3,350,322,000
3,126,148,000
6,476,470,000
2004
3,713,043,000
4,547,261,000
8,260,304,000
2005
7,393,783,000
7,029,784,000
14,423,567,000
2006
5,576,312,000
10,960,347,000
-5,384,035,000
2006*
Period January to December 2006 Source: Department of Trade and Industry
Issued
by Ronnie Mamoepa on 082 990 4853
Department of Foreign Affairs Private
Bag X152 Pretoria 0001
