Your Excellency President Rousseff,
Your Excellency Prime Minister Singh,
Honourable Ministers representing the IBSA countries
Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Senior Officials,
Sectoral representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is my personal privilege and honour to welcome you on behalf of the South African Government and people, to the administrative capital city of the Republic of South Africa.
The summit takes place during our most enjoyable period of the year with the purple jacaranda flowers in full bloom in our streets.
Excellencies,
It is a very special occasion for IBSA since we also welcome President Rousseff into the midst of our IBSA family.
We were proud to note that President Rousseff became the first woman to open the debate at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in this historic year, when IBSA served together as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
We fully support President Rousseff on the matters she referred to so eloquently in her historic address to the UN General Assembly.
These included the European debt crisis and its global ramifications, the need to create a Palestinian State, combating global warming and ending gender inequality.
Prime Minister Singh has visited South Africa previously and is always a most treasured and welcome guest to our shores.
This is a reflection of our unique historical bond that has arisen out of our shared colonial struggle history, and inspired by our great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.
Excellencies,
It has indeed been an extraordinary year since we held our last Summit in Brasilia.
When I ponder the unique nature of the IBSA Dialogue Forum, I am reminded of our ambitious constituting ideals in our first Summit Declaration.
It was already envisaged at that juncture in 2006, that this Forum would provide a framework that would give additional impetus for further contacts between Asian, South American and African developing countries. We said it would contribute to strengthening South-South cooperation.
We have certainly travelled together well through an uncertain global landscape. We have traversed many challenges on the way.
IBSA symbolises those shared challenges and victories experienced by developing countries on so many fronts, in their quest to achieve a better quality of life and prosperity for their peoples.
Excellencies,
This summit takes place at a time when the world is going through trying times.
We face yet again the economic crisis in the countries of the developed North and the popular quest for freedom and democracy in North Africa and the Middle East which has aptly been termed the "Arab Spring".
The economic crisis is accompanied by a crisis in our mode of consumption and use of energy resources as well as food shortages. We face increasing incidents of poverty and inequality in the world, while some parts of the globe face hunger and disasters.
IBSA countries individually and collectively can make a contribution in helping the international community surmount these challenges.
I wish to reflect on the essence of what IBSA portrays, which we describe as “Back to Basics: When Democracy and Development Work Together for a Better Life”.
We believe that countries can prosper and create a better life for their people when democracy and development work together.
This is a basic building block of the kind of societies the IBSA countries continue to strive for.
However there are structural constraints that continue make the achievement of a better life in our countries difficult to achieve.
The post-World War 2 institutional arrangement rendered the institutions of global governance to be skewed in favour of the developed North.
This makes the transformation of the global governance system urgent and critical and I am glad that we are united in the pursuit of that goal.
We have also demonstrated that we can achieve a lot when working together on the multilateral front.
I wish to express my appreciation for the close cooperation we enjoyed in regard to the developments in Syria, notably through our trilateral mission under the auspices of our Deputy Foreign Ministers.
We recognise that this initiative was invaluable in the context of promoting precisely the IBSA values of democracy, human rights and ensuring the security of civilians.
This meeting, coming as it does on the back of the annual United Nations General Assembly, would be incomplete without mentioning Palestine.
I would like to reiterate South Africa’s committed support of Palestinian statehood and membership of the United Nations.
Within the context of the African Union, South Africa recognises the centrality of the United Nations, especially the Security Council, to continue to take decisions that enable us to decisively deal with the challenges of peace and security on our continent.
As such, we will continue with our endeavours to establish appropriate linkages between the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council.
Excellencies,
Next month, South Africa will warmly welcome in Durban the rest of the world for the 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (known as COP17) and the 7th Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP7) under the theme “Working Together! Saving Tomorrow Today!.”
It is our wish that this Conference will become a platform for the world to take a significant step towards a future Climate Change regime.
We will also continue our important work as IBSA to work towards a world where sustainable development enjoys the required attention it deserves.
At the World Summit on Sustainable Development that was hosted by South Africa in 2002, we pushed for an action-oriented outcome with a set of targets for sustainable development.
When we meet in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil next year for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio plus 20, we need to find renewed political commitment for sustainable development, as a platform to address the emerging challenges associated with the implementation of sustainable development.
We will then proceed to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity which India will host. South Africa, Brazil and India have consistently supported the sustainable utilisation of biological resources.
We must once again work together for the preservation of our rich natural heritage.
We also look forward to the final report of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability. We trust that its findings will provide much needed ideas and inspiration to take the international sustainable development debate forward.
Excellencies,
I wish to focus our vision on possible future areas of cooperation for IBSA.
As you know, the scourge of piracy has been manifesting in both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
I am specifically contemplating a maritime security cooperation dialogue and possible framework which could further include non-security functional cooperation areas of engagement.
We can reflect more on this and make proposals.
We have set ourselves in the IBSA context, ambitious targets for trade flows and closer cooperation. We should build on all these synergies where possible.
We have identified the issue of improved transport interconnectivity as a key driver in this regard, and I urge our relevant Ministers to continue their hard work to ensure the required gains.
We also undertook in 2006 to enhance trilateral cooperation in sectoral areas.
We will take stock of the successes and opportunities regarding our government-to-government and people-to-people cooperation and reflect on the challenges that might exist and require our attention.
I also wish to convey my warm appreciation for our continued joint efforts to ensure that our IBSA Fund for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation continues to break new ground.
I am particularly pleased to hear that we are making progress on our pledge to support both Sudan and the newly independent Republic of South Sudan.
I trust that the IBSA Fund will continue to assist us in showing our solidarity to countries emerging from conflict situations, and facing severe socio-economic development challenges.
Excellencies,
Once more, may I wish you a most enjoyable stay in South Africa.
We look forward to a successful fight IBSA Summit.
I thank you.
