India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue
Forum: Plan of Action
Transportation (Civil Aviation and Shipping)
1. Recognizing the need for air connectivity between
the three nations, so as to facilitate and enhance the
movement of passengers and goods and achieve the objectives
of the Brasilia declaration, the Ministers emphasized
the importance for concrete trilateral co-operation
in the Civil Aviation sector.
2. The three countries agreed to the following action
plan in respect of Air Transport:
a) The Air Services Agreement between Brazil and India
would be finalized in April 2004.
b) A trilateral co-operation Agreement on Air Services
would be considered and finalized before the end of
2004, particularly in the areas of broadening fifth
freedom rights, identification of routes for increased
frequency of air links and possibilities for commercial
agreements between airline companies (Code sharing etc.)
In the meantime exchange of information and ideas on
the nature and content of the Trilateral Co-operation
Agreement would take place.
c) The three countries would consider common approaches
on matters of mutual interest on Civil Aviation issues
in multilateral forums.
d) Efforts through mutual consultation would be made
to facilitate efficient cargo transportation, encourage
tourism through charter flights and foster exchanges
on best practices in areas of Training, Safety, Security,
Airport Management, Air Navigation and Communication
systems between the three countries taking into account
the different national legislations.
3. With regard to cooperation in Maritime Sector, the
Ministers agreed that there would be exchange of information
and meetings among the officers of Ministry of Shipping
and Transport of the three countries with a view to
develop a Trilateral Maritime Transport Corridor between
India, South Africa and Brazil. The three countries
also agreed to cooperate in the fields of maritime training,
capacity building and port logistics, inland water transportation;
to coordinate stands on issues concerning maritime affairs
in multilateral fora.
4. India and South Africa will conclude their bilateral
cooperation agreement by the end of 2004.
5. It was agreed to explore in the near future a structure
for trilateral cooperation on maritime transportation
matters, possibly in the form of a Framework Agreement.
6. The Ministers agreed that the product offering of
the three countries viz. India -Culture and Heritage,
South Africa - Eco Tourism and Nature Conservation and
Brazil - Festivals and Sun and Sea, provided opportunities
for convergence and integration into unique tourism
packages. This necessitated familiarization tours for
the leading tour operators, travel agents and travel
writers. As a first step, India will take the initiative
to structure a meeting of the leading players of the
private sector of the travel, tourism and hospitality
industry of the three countries.
7. The Ministers agreed to a programme of action in
the following areas: Capacity building in Culture/Heritage;
Joint Marketing initiatives; Eco-tourism and Nature
Conservation and Management of Cultural Festivals and
any other areas mutually agreed upon. There will be
exchange of information on statistics on tourism related
aspects as well as promotion of mutual investment in
8. The three countries agreed to pursue common approach
with regard the activities of World Tourism Organization
(WTO) and other relevant multi-lateral fora.
9. Considering that India has bilateral tourism agreements
with Brazil and South Africa, the later two will endeavour
to conclude an agreement by the end of 2004. The three
countries will explore the possibility of a tri-lateral
cooperation agreement in tourism.
10. It was agreed that the meeting of the IBSA Tourism
Ministers would be held by the end of June 2004 to further
strengthen cooperation in Tourism.
Trade and investment
11. The ministers agreed that the IBSA countries can
reinforce the economic strength of each other by synergizing
their complementarities in areas of industry, services,
business and technologies and create a market of 1.2
billion people, 1.2 trillion dollars of GDP and foreign
trade of 300 billion dollars. They further agreed to
consider signing of a trilateral cooperation agreement
to promote and facilitate trade among the three countries.
12. The Ministers agreed:
· To seek convergence between the preferential
trade negotiations between the three countries and their
regions (Mercosur-SACU, Mercosur-India, SACU-India)
· To increase trade flows between the three countries
from US$4.6 billion presently to US$ 10 billion by 2007
· Strengthening business to business links among
the three countries
· Holding of IBSA Business Summits on rotation
in each country.
· Each country to conduct studies to examine
the potential for economic and commercial partnership
and suggest ways and means for increasing trade and
investment flows among the three countries. The studies
should be completed by September 2004.
13. The Ministers welcomed the Brazilian proposal to
promote the establishment of a trilateral business council.
14. The Ministers recognized that there are opportunities
for IBSA members to implement projects through, inter
alia, State owned enterprises and public/private partnerships
in each other's country as well as jointly in other
countries. Areas of cooperation could include:
· Civil engineering, project management;
· Construction, roads, highways, airports, ports,
and energy sector;
· Telecommunications and Internet.
Job creation and small, medium and micro enterprises
15. The Ministers underlined the importance of job
creation, youth entrepreneurship and development of
small, medium and micro enterprises. It was agreed:
· To exchange best practices, technology and
tools, with an emphasis on youth entrepreneurship and
· To share experiences to better assist the rural
and youth populations.
· To create links between entities, federations,
etc. responsible for job creations.
· To create links between SMME and promotion
· To allow for broad participation of government,
labour, business, civil society and NGOs.
· To develop joint training programmes for human
resources development, including the exchange of students
and youth entrepreneurs.
Science and Technology
16. The Ministers noted the existence of functional
science and technology bilateral agreements among the
three countries. They also outlined a process to shape
the relationship among the IBSA countries towards a
mutually agreed outcome, which includes:
· the finalization of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) detailing concrete modes and areas for engagement;
· the establishment of a trilateral working group
to formulate a detailed programme of action and meet
regularly to review progress on its implementation.
17. The first meeting of the working group will take
place in South Africa, in May 2004, to prioritize projects
for the programme of action.
18. The Ministers agreed to establish IBSA Technology
Days, which will be organized annually, on rotational
basis, for the purposes of showcasing the IBSA science
and technology capabilities and progress.
19. South Africa also offered to host a science and
technology implementation meeting, to be held in conjunction
with the South African Science and Technology Fair,
in Johannesburg during November 2004.
20. The modes of science and technology cooperation
· short-term exchange of young scientists;
· trilateral workshops on mutually agreed themes;
· exchange of science and technology information;
· specialized training in areas of national strength;
· development of lecture series; and
· research and development collaboration and
21. The mutually agreed areas for cooperation and collaboration
in the short to medium term include:
· biotechnology, including agricultural biotechnology,
· alternative and renewable energies;
· astronomy and astrophysics;
· meteorology and climate change;
· oceanography, fisheries science and Antarctic
· indigenous knowledge; and
· information technologies.
22. In addition, the three countries agreed to share
information on best practices in technology transfer
and to engage on intellectual property rights issues
related to the protection of biodiversity and traditional
23. Further, the three countries agreed to network
their research and development institutions in order
to strengthen and further develop the trilateral science
and technology relationship.
24. Brazil's offer to host a meeting of Ministers of
Science and Technology in the third quarter of 2004
was welcomed, as well as South Africa's offer to host
the First IBSA Technology Day and a Technology Fair.
25. The Ministers highlighted the strategic role of
information and communication technologies in the promotion
of social and economic development. India, Brazil and
South Africa, as three large developing countries, regard
information technologies as essential tools to job-creation,
economic growth, and poverty eradication.
26. The strengthening of national information technology
industries is essential to promote competitiveness of
the three national economies and to boost national capabilities
27. The Ministers emphasized the need for joint action
and urgency in combating the fast growing Digital Divide
not only between developed and developing, but also
within, countries. The Digital Divide widens other social
divides, such as the income, educational, scientific
28. Taking into account the outcomes of the Brasilia
Meeting of 12 and 13 February 2004, the Ministers agreed
to synergise the capacities of the three countries in
the following project areas:
29. Projects On E-Governance
· Develop Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) tools and applications aimed at improving public
administration at different levels of government, taxation
management, public financing and delivery of public
30. Projects On Capacity Building
· Using ICTs to impart literacy skills
· Harnessing Human Computer Interaction Technologies
to address development challenges, especially those
related to illiteracy and disability.
· Increase research on using wireless technologies
to extend access to computers and provide affordable
connectivity, especially to poor people and those located
in rural and remote areas.
· To develop innovative solutions aimed at extending
public access to computers and ICT skills to under-privileged
· Extend Cyber infrastructure by harnessing technologies
such as grid and cluster (blade or middle range) computing,
High Performance Computing and broadband communication
networks for advancing research, development and competitiveness
and thereby developing solutions to larger and more
31. Projects On Local Content Development
· Developing a universal networking language
so that people in one part of a country or the world,
speaking different languages, can communicate without
the need to know each other's language.
32. Projects On E-Health
· Increasing tele-medicine infrastructure to
enable patients to receive health services such as medical
diagnosis and advice to which they would not ordinarily
have access due to distance and/or limitation in the
availability of specialists.
33. Modes of cooperation
· Coordination of initiatives in the area
· Sharing of experience and expertise through
inter alia exchange of technical missions and information
in areas of national strength
· Joint piloting of projects, development of
testbeds and possible planning of full scale implementation
· Human resource development in the identified
areas of cooperation
· Joint evaluation of projects.
Trilateral Memorandum on cooperation on the Information
34. Brazil, India and South Africa, as founders of
the World Summit on the Information Society Like-Minded
Group of countries, decide to continue their coordination
of positions in order to contribute effectively towards
the development of an inclusive Information Society.
35. They also re-iterated their commitment to contributing
to the success of the Tunis Phase of the Summit.
36. Accordingly, the Ministers agreed on the establishment
of a tri-lateral Consultative Group to coordinate this
work, and in particular, ensure effective contribution
to the Working Group on the Digital Solidarity Fund
and the Working Group on Internet Governance to be established
by the UN Secretary General.
37. The IBSA Working Group on the Information Society
shall meet to work on a Trilateral Memorandum of cooperation
on Information Society during the First IBSA Technology
Day Workshop due to take place in South Africa in May
38. Brazil announced the that it will be organising
a Congress on Public Informatics (CONIP) which is the
main Brazilian event on modernising public administration
at different government levels and enhancing public
participation in decision making using ICTs.
39. This Congress, within which SERPRO- the Federal
Data Processing Services Enterprise- intends to organise
an IBSA workshop, is due to take place in Sao Paolo
from 22-24 June 2004.
40. The Ministers decided to recommend an IBSA Ministerial
on the Information Society as soon as possible.
41. In the area of the health related issues, in its
meeting held in Brasilia on Feb.12-13, 2004, the working
group on health, discussed the following six areas of
common interest: -
1. Intellectual property rights and their impact on
access to medicine;
2. Traditional medicine;
3. Integration among laboratories / sanitary regulation;
4. Epidemiological survey;
6. Research and development of products of the pharmaceutical
42. In the meeting at Brasilia, it was agreed that:
a) Each country would present a paper on the impact
of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) on Public Health
and access to medicines in their own country in a workshop
to be held in New Delhi in the first week of March so
that common strategies could be developed to ensure
universal access of medicines and innovation.
b) India would prepare a paper on organization and management
of Traditional Medicines to be discussed at a conference
so that a common Plan of Action for their greater use
could be developed.
43. In addition it was also agreed that at a mutually
convenient date after the New Delhi meeting, each country
would present their own assessments of the strengths
and weaknesses in disease surveillance, which would
facilitate the development of strategies for effective
disease surveillance with emphasis on the strengthening
of national laboratory network.
44. The representatives of the three countries met
in New Delhi on March 3-5,2004 and presented a paper
each on the impact of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
on Public Health and access to medicines with a view
to evolving common strategies to ensure universal access
of medicines and innovations.
45. In the course of discussions, which followed the
presentations, the following points of agreement emerged-
a) The national statutory frameworks of the three countries
should reflect all the flexibilities allowed for by
the WTO TRIPS Agreement, Doha Ministerial Declaration
on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, as well as
the further decisions on Para 6 of the said declaration.
Further, IBSA agrees to make efforts to urge other countries,
particularly developing and least developed countries,
to consider taking similar steps to reflect all the
above mentioned flexibilities in their national legislations.
b) (ii)The bilateral / multilateral trade agreements,
which are "TRIPS Plus" should be opposed.
The three countries should also take lead in sensitizing
other developing countries in this regard.
c) (iii)To take all steps, including exchange of technical
experts and collaborative efforts, to strengthen the
indigenous manufacturing capacities and to make available
low cost, low priced, effective, safe and quality pharmaceutical
d) (iv) To leverage the opportunity provided by the
setting up of WHO Commission on Intellectual Property
Rights, Innovation and Public Health (WHA 56.27) to
put across the commonly agreed point of view of the
three countries. For this purpose, the Health Sub group
of IBSA identified focal points to prepare a draft document
to be submitted to the Commission by mid July 2004.
A meeting in this regard would be convened on the sidelines
of the 57th WHA at Geneva.
46. A status paper on organization and management of
Traditional Medicine was presented on behalf of India.
Keeping in view the wide scope for cooperation in this
area, it was agreed that the three countries would identify
focal points to pursue the matter further.
47. It was agreed that Brazil would circulate a paper
on their disease surveillance programme and the status
of national laboratories network and make a presentation
on the sidelines of the 57th WHA at Geneva.
48. The Ministers proposed the institution of a programme
of reciprocal visits with the purpose of exchanging
ideas, experience and practices in the energy area.
These exchanges may include: research and development,
storage and distribution, technology transfer, practical
application of technological knowledge, and organization
49. The following areas were identified for initial
cooperation: (i) access to affordable energy in rural
areas with emphasis on non-conventional energy; (ii)
exploring bio-diesel as a commercially viable energy
source by exchanging knowledge and experience; and (iii)
research and development in the areas of hydrogen energy
and fuel cells.
50. The Brazilian side has proposed to host the first
meeting of the Energy Working Group in the third quarter
51. The Ministers recalled the meeting of the Defence
Ministers of South Africa, Mr. M.G.P. Lekota, Mr. George
Fernandes of India and Mr. Jose Viegas Filho of Brazil
in Pretoria on February 1, 2004 at the invitation of
the South African Minister of Defence to discuss areas
of common concern and potential trilateral cooperation
in areas of defence and mutual security.
52. In their first meeting, IBSA Defence Ministers,
in accordance with the objectives set out in the Brasilia
Declaration, exchanged views on common security concerns
with specific reference to the security situation in
their separate regions. They also discussed themes related
to security on the international agenda and underlined
the importance and necessity of a process of dialogue
amongst developing nations and countries of the south
on security-related issues of mutual interest.
53. The Ministers recognized the primacy of the role
of the United Nations in maintaining international peace.
They also recognized and appreciated the efforts of
the African Union in regional peacekeeping. The Ministers
agreed to initiate steps for joint peacekeeping training/exercises.
54. They agreed that in the interests of promoting
international security, the three countries would cooperate
towards promoting maritime and air safety, including
combating illegal weapons and narcotics traffic and
maritime transit of toxic chemicals and radioactive
waste across Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
55. The Ministers agreed that it would be mutually
beneficial to foster interaction amongst them, noting
that their defence industries had developed excellence
in diverse areas, which could offer a broad range of
potential opportunities - capitalizing on each others'
respective strengths - for cooperation in defence production,
co-development, trade and joint marketing.
56. The Ministers agreed to explore coordination among
the defence research institutions in the three countries
and of their respective defence industries to provide
inputs for the identification of concrete cooperation
57. Training was identified as another area with a
significant potential for mutually beneficial cooperation
and the Ministers agreed to institutionalize exchanges
among the respective defence institutions.
58. The Ministers agreed to continue a regular trilateral
dialogue on an annual basis. Next meeting shall take
place in Brazil in 2005.
59. The three Governments of India, Brazil and South
Africa assigned priority, in the Brasilia Declaration,
to the promotion of social equity and inclusion and
have agreed that education is a powerful instrument
for achieving those goals. The three Governments have
a rich experience and expertise on a variety of areas
and aspects of education. Each country stands to benefit
from sharing of such expertise, and from collaboration.
The three countries also share areas of common concern
over access to and quality of education at all levels.
These concerns have greater significance in the context
60. The Ministers decided that major areas of collaboration
will be open and distance education, higher and professional
education and universal mass education with special
emphasis on quality and gender equity. The detailed
mechanism and framework for collaboration will be worked
out in round table conferences in each area, preferably
before the next IBSA Dialogue Forum. Each country may
host one round table conference on one of the selected
IBSA Facility for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger
1. Following announcements made at the United Nations
General Assembly in September 2003, the Governments
of India, Brazil and South Africa decided to establish
a trust fund, within UNDP, aimed at contributing, in
a concrete manner, to poverty and hunger alleviation,
in a framework of improved international cooperation,
including towards the implementation of the millennium
2. The trust fund will be used to implement identified
replicable and scaleable projects to be disseminated
in interested developing countries as examples of best
practices in the fight against poverty and hunger, including
actions in the areas of improved access to health, education,
sanitation and food security.
3. The IBSA facility for poverty and hunger alleviation
will be a dedicated trust fund within UNDP.
4. UNDP will provide the facility with adequate administrative
support free of charge.
5. A Board of Directors will be appointed to govern
the facility. The Board of Directors will be composed
of the designated representatives of the governments
of India, Brazil and South Africa as originators of
facility. The administrator of UNDP or his designated
representative will serve ex-officio on the board.
6. The Board of Directors will set the strategic direction
of the facility. It will also identify projects within
the focus areas, review project submissions and decide
on resource allocation. On an annual basis, UNDP will
present to the Board of Directors a report on the operations
of the facility. The Board of Directors will be responsible
for fund raising for the facility, including with the
assistance of UNDP.
7. The Board of Directors or their designated representatives
will engage donor and interested parties on a project
by project basis on the implementation of projects.
8. The facility will benefit from initial contributions
from India, Brazil and South Africa to facilitate the
start-up phase. The UNDP contribution will consist of
in-kind office space and administrative support and
oversight for the operations of the facility.
9. It is expected that the facility will be financed
through contributions from donor countries, additional
to ODA, as well as through non-traditional sources,
such as contributions from individuals, civil society
organisations, including businesses and NGOs, and philanthropic
10. The facility will be dedicated to the development
and replication of best practices, as pioneered in India,
Brazil and South Africa, to be identified by the Board
11. The Board of Directors will transmit project and
programme concepts which are examples of best practices
in their countries to the UNDP. UNDP will disseminate
this information and will communicate to the Board of
Directors expressions of interest from governments.
12. On the basis of such a matching exercise, the UNDP
will seek additional funding as necessary for each individual
project from Governmental and non-Governmental sources.
13. UNDP country offices will disburse funds and manage
the project cycle, reporting to the Board of Directors
on an annual basis on the use of these funds.
Eligibility for funding
14. All developing countries are eligible for receipt
of funding from the facility.
15. UNDP undertakes to support awareness raising activities
for the Facility, including through meetings at Headquarters,
and inclusion in its annual report and on its website
as part of its administrative support.