President Jacob Zuma will pay a working visit to Brasilia, Brazil on 15 April 2010 to attend the fourth IBSA summit, which brings together the leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa.
President Jacob Zuma will be accompanied by Minister International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies, Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sicelo Shiceka and Minister of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya.
An important forum for south to south cooperation, the first IBSA Summit was held in September 2006. Two summits and six ministerial trilateral commissions have taken place, and 17 sectoral working groups established.
The summit is expected to produce a leader's joint declaration, which will reflect common views on several global issues. A number of trilateral Memoranda of Understanding in various fields will be signed.
The summit will be an opportunity for President Zuma, President Lula da Silva of Brazil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India to discuss the coordination of positions on areas of global importance like United Nations Security Council reform, climate change and the pursuit of the millennium development goals (MDGs). It will also be used to strengthen cooperation between the three countries. The three countries will also share experiences on how to address similar socio-economic challenges.
Memoranda are expected to be signed in the areas of science and technology, solar energy, intellectual property and cooperation between diplomatic academies.
President Zuma will travel to Brazil from Washington DC in the United States, where he is currently attending a nuclear security summit.
Issued by: The Presidency
13 April 2010
