Statement by President JG Zuma to Media Briefing at the conclusion of the 4th IBSA Summit; Brasilia, Brazil, 15 April 2010

Your Excellency,
President Lula da Silva,
Your Excellency,
Prime Minister Singh,
Members of the delegations of Brazil, India and South Africa,
Members of the media,
Ladies and Gentleman,

I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to President Lula da Silva for graciously hosting this 4th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of Brazil, India and South Africa.

This summit has proven the value of this forum for cooperation among our three countries.

It is clear from the discussions today that this forum is rapidly developing into an effective vehicle for engagement and collaboration.

While we can already point to a number of achievements, including the agreements that have been signed here today, it is becoming ever more obvious that we have yet to fully explore the potential of this trilateral relationship.

The working groups that have been established are making progress in a number of areas, using our collective insights, experiences and resources to improve the lives of our people.

We have had an opportunity today to review the work being done, and to indicate areas where we need to place additional effort.

All three governments are committed to do what is necessary to advance this work, and ensure that it makes a real difference to the development of our three countries.

South Africa is particularly excited about the proposal for an IBSA satellite project.

It offers an opportunity to expand our cooperation into advanced technology, increasing our collective scientific and engineering capacity.

We see this initiative as an opportunity to reinforce our shared developmental objectives.

A joint satellite could lend support to areas like agriculture, education, energy, health, information and communications, trade and transport.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We also had an opportunity to discuss various multilateral issues.

We have seen in recent times the importance of IBSA as a forum within the broader international community.

Brazil, India and South Africa each occupy an influential position within their respective regions, and hold similar views on key global issues.

We are therefore in a position to make a significant contribution to global debate and engagement.

This was clearly demonstrated at the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change in December last year, where the IBSA countries, together with China, played an important role in reaching agreement on the Copenhagen Accord.

We have been able to effectively represent the interests of the developing world in such multilateral forums.

In this context, we had a useful discussion about the reform of multilateral institutions, specifically the UN Security Council.

We can no longer accept a situation in which the majority of the world’s people remain inadequately represented in such bodies.

As the IBSA countries, we have resolved to work together and with other countries to advance the reform of the UN Security Council and other institutions to make them more representative, more democratic and more responsive to the needs of the poor.

We will also continue our collective efforts to combat climate change.

This includes further collaboration around efforts to address environmental challenges in our respective countries.

We each have significant natural resources that need to be used sustainably and significant potential to develop renewable energy capacity.

We will also continue to engage in the broader global effort to achieve a legally-binding agreement on climate change.

We will once again work together, within the BASIC group and with like-minded countries, towards a successful outcome to the next COP meeting in Mexico in December.

We reiterate that climate change negotiations need to continue under the two-track processes set out in the Bali Roadmap, upholding the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

South Africa looks forward to hosting the 5th IBSA Summit in October 2011.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done before then.

As South Africa we are firmly committed to do everything we can to implement the agreements that we have made here, and in previous summits and meetings.

Lastly, I wish to thank Prime Minister Singh and President Lula da Silva for a highly successful and productive summit.

It has done much to justify the confidence that our people have in this important initiative.

We now have a responsibility to ensure that the work we have done here does indeed bring about a significant improvement in the lives of our people.

By working together we can build a better world and achieve a better future for the people of Brazil, India and South Africa.

I thank you.

Issued by:

The Presidency
Union Buildings
Pretoria