•Taking off from a suggestion by South African President Thabo Mbeki, the ‘India-Brazil-South Africa’ (IBSA) forum was formed in 2003. It is an initiative to unite the three leading democracies of the developing world and an effort to counter the powerful Group of Eight alliance of industrialised countries and promote South-South cooperation. The three regional powers felt that by forging closer ties between themselves they would be able to improve co-operation and trade between their regions

•It was formally launched by the adoption of the ‘Brasilia Declaration’, where the three countries “decided to hold regular political consultations on international agenda items, as well as to exchange information on areas of mutual co-operation in order to coordinate their positions on issues of common interest”

•IBSA leaders argue that, working together, they will have greater leverage when negotiating with countries of the North for better trade conditions under the World Trade Organisation (WTO)

•Fourteen working groups representing various government departments cover agriculture, climate change, defence, education, energy — among others

•India leads in the education sector. At the 2nd IBSA Focal Points Meeting on November 29, 2004, the following three major areas of cooperation were identified for collaboration: open and distance education (South Africa), higher and professional education (Brazil), and universal mass education with special emphasis on quality and gender equality (India)

•In the area of science and technology, some workshops have already been held: nano-technology in India on April 19, 2005; HIV Aids in India on May 26, 2005; functional genomics, life science, GM and agriculture in India on July 18-19, 2006; malaria in South Africa on September 4-7, 2005; oceanography and Antarctic research in Brazil from September 14-16, 2006; HIV/AIDS in South Africa from October 2-4, 2005

... contd.