The Minister of State of External Affairs of the Republic of India, Shri V. Muraleedharan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil, H.E. Amb. Mauro Vieira, and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa H.E, Dr. Grace Naledi Pandor, (hereinafter referred to as "the Ministers") held a Standalone Meeting on 22 February, in Rio de Janeiro.
2. The Ministers recalled that IBSA was created more than 20 years ago to promote coordination on global issues between three large pluralistic, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic democracies of Asia, South America and Africa, and to enhance trilateral cooperation in sectoral areas, providing a new framework to South-South Cooperation. They underscored the importance of IBSA´s principles, norms, and values, including reformed multilateralism, participatory democracy, respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, peaceful negotiation, diplomacy, freedom, the primacy of international law and sustainable development.
3. The Ministers reiterated their intention to further energize and leverage the IBSA Forum, this Standalone Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs constituting a further step in that direction. The Sherpas and Sous Sherpas have discussed Concept Notes regarding IBSA´s institutional development and the first meeting of IBSA authorities on food security and nutrition.
4. The Ministers agreed that the fight against poverty and hunger is a priority and a long-standing area for cooperation among the three countries. They agreed to leverage international cooperation to ensure food security and nutrition in their respective regions and at the global level and decided to host the First meeting of IBSA authorities on food security and nutrition.
5. The Ministers agreed to strengthen, expand and promote the IBSA Fund, an internationally recognized initiative of South-South cooperation, with 45 projects in 37 countries.
6. The Ministers recalled that India, Brazil and South Africa are focused on pursuing sustainable development, overcoming development challenges, reforming the global governance and upholding independent foreign policies. They believe that the values and principles of IBSA serve as a bridge between developing and developed countries. The Ministers affirmed the strategic significance of IBSA in safeguarding and advancing the interests of the Global South on the global stage, including at the multilateral and plurilateral bodies.
7. The Ministers noted with concern the escalation of geopolitical tensions in various parts of the world and emphasized the urgency of re-engaging in the pursuit of peace, in contrast to divisive narratives that only serve to reinforce the current scenario of fragmentation and geopolitical polarization. They stressed the need for dialogue for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the need for strengthening tools for conflict prevention, such as mediation and preventive diplomacy. They reiterated their commitment to the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law, and multilateralism.
8. They affirmed the need for reformed, revitalized and reinvigorated multilateralism aimed at implementing the 2030 Agenda, to adequately address contemporary global challenges of the 21st century and to make global governance more representative, democratic, effective, transparent and accountable.
9. They underscored the importance of the Peacebuilding Commission in bringing a strategic approach and coherence to international peacebuilding efforts. They recognized the Commission’s role in advising and acting as a bridge to United Nations bodies and facilitating the inclusion of perspectives of relevant stakeholders, including international financial institutions, on peacebuilding. They also encouraged the mobilization of financial resources for the implementation of peacebuilding activities. In this regard, they welcomed the adoption of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 78/257 on investing in prevention and peacebuilding noting the significant progress made in the financing of peacebuilding activities by the United Nations, including from assessed contributions. The Ministers acknowledged that the role of the Peacebuilding Commission can be further enhanced to effectively support national, regional and international peacebuilding efforts, and expressed their intent to work towards the 2025 review of the peacebuilding architecture, as mandated by UNGA resolution 75/201 and UNSC resolution 2558 (2020).
10. Recalling the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, the Ministers expressed grave concern about the serious humanitarian consequences of the more than 100 ongoing armed conflicts around the world and emphasized that a universal culture of compliance with international humanitarian law is essential to preventing and mitigating the human cost of war.
11. The Ministers recalled that all parties to armed conflicts must respect and protect civilians and take constant care to spare civilian objects, in compliance with the humanitarian principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. They condemned any unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival in situations of armed conflict [based on UNSC Resolution 2573/2021].
12. The Ministers called for strengthening of global arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, including efforts within the framework of the Conference on Disarmament.
13. Recalling the IBSA Joint Statement on the Reform of the Multilateral System made in New York on 26 September 2019 and the IBSA Joint Ministerial Statement on Reform of the UN Security Council of 16 September 2020, the Ministers reaffirmed their commitments to safeguarding the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, such as equal sovereignty and non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, greater democracy and the rule of law in international relations, as well as to building a representative, responsive and participatory international governance architecture through mutually beneficial cooperation.
14. The Ministers emphasized that while a comprehensive reform of the United Nations system remains a crucial international undertaking, the advancing of the reform of the Security Council should remain an urgent and top priority. The Ministers expressed once again frustration with the paralysis observed at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on UN Security Council reform which, in spite of recent progress, still lacks transparency in its working methods and have not produced tangible progress in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). They stressed that the time has come to move towards a result-oriented process and urged the redoubling of efforts to achieve concrete outcomes within a fixed time frame on this issue through the commencement of text-based negotiations, based on a single comprehensive text, in a formal setting, during the 79th UNGA, with a view to an early comprehensive reform of the Security Council.
15. The Ministers emphasized the importance of forthcoming milestone events, such as the Summit of the Future in 2024 and the UN 80th anniversary in 2025, for decisive progress and tangible results on UN Security Council reform.
16. The Ministers renewed their commitment to work for the expansion of Security Council membership to include representation from developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, in both the permanent and non-permanent membership categories for achieving a reformed, representative, equitable, responsive and effective UN Security Council, which is reflective of the contemporary global realities. They supported the legitimate aspiration of African countries to have a permanent presence in the UNSC and supported Brazil’s and India’s endeavours to occupy permanent seats in the Security Council. The Ministers appreciated the role of India and Brazil as members of the UN Security Council for 2021-2022 and 2022-23, respectively.
17. The Ministers deplored the continued terrorist attacks across the world. They condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations wherever committed and by whomsoever. They concurred that terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought, and terrorist safe havens eliminated in every part of the world. They reaffirmed their solidarity and resolved in the fight against terrorism. They called upon the international community to establish a genuinely broad international counter-terrorism framework in accordance with the principles of international law and support the United Nations' central coordinating role in international counter-terrorism cooperation. They recalled the responsibility of all States to prevent and counter-terrorism, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, the financing of terrorist networks and terrorist actions from their territories. The Ministers reiterated their resolve to step up joint efforts for the expeditious adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UNGA.
18. The Ministers looked forward to further deepening counter-terrorism cooperation and reaffirmed the sole authority of the UN Security Council for imposing sanctions and called for urgent reform of the working methods of UN Security Council Sanctions Committees to ensure their effectiveness, responsiveness and transparency while avoiding politicization and double standards of any of their proceedings including listing proposals objectively on evidence-based criteria.
19. The Ministers recognise the close relationship between foreign policy and global health and that global health challenges, such as COVID-19, require concerted and sustained common efforts. They look forward to working together to make the world more resilient to future public health emergencies, and highlighted the crucial role being played by the member states under the World Health Organization-led intergovernmental negotiating body to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument that is guided by equity and solidarity to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response and by the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) in this collective effort.
20. The Ministers emphasised the value of bilateral, particularly South-South cooperation, along with trilateral and multilateral cooperation among states in the field of health to promote the strengthening of health systems, including through local production and universal, timely and equitable access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medical countermeasures, including vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other health technologies and products.
21. The Ministers congratulated the World Health Organization’s member states on the approval of Resolution WHA76.16, adopted during the 76th World Health Assembly, regarding the health of indigenous peoples. Noting that all the IBSA countries have systems of traditional medicine, the Ministers recognize that traditional medicine has a larger role to play in the prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases, nutritional deficiencies, infectious diseases and many other conditions. The Ministers welcomed the proposal for academia in IBSA countries to join hands to develop scientific evidence of the utility and effectiveness of traditional medicine. Further, recalling the IBSA MoU on cooperation in the field of health and medicine signed in Pretoria, South Africa, on 17 October 2007, which called for promoting and developing cooperation in the area of traditional medicine, the Ministers agreed to consider exploring a separate IBSA MoU for cooperation on Traditional Medicine and to develop and implement a road map for cooperation to improve the health of their people and facilitate trade in the area of traditional medicine inter alia.
22. The Ministers also welcomed the setting up of the first WHO Global Traditional Medicine Center in Gujarat, India, in 2022, in response to the increased global interest and demand for evidence-based traditional medicine.
23. The Ministers underscored the importance of the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner leaving no one behind. They highlighted the need to strengthen the means of implementation including capacity building, transfer of technology, grants and concessional finance from the developed countries and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. They urged the developed countries to fully honour their Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments and for providing new and additional financing and the means of implementation of the SDGs in the developing countries.
24. The Ministers also emphasized that it remains imperative to overcome extreme poverty, to reduce inequalities, and to promote sustainable development for all, including through international and South-South cooperation aimed at sharing best practices. They also acknowledged that the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, must be aligned with national efforts and international cooperation as it represents the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.
25. The Ministers called for the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements guided by the principles of Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Emphasizing that the "Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework", adopted at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in December 2022, implemented as per national circumstances, the Ministers recalled the importance of ensuring adequate, affordable, accessible and predictable financial resources as well as transfer of appropriate and affordable technologies, especially from the developed countries to the developing countries for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as promoting the contributions of indigenous peoples, and local communities. In this sense, they called for reforming the governance and improving the efficiency of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) by ensuring the full participation of developing countries in its decisions and transparent and faster project approvals. They also underlined the need to urgently accelerate actions to address development and climate challenges, promote lifestyle for sustainable development, and conserve biodiversity. The Ministers welcomed the Brazilian presidency of the group of Likeminded Megadiverse Countries (LMMC) for the period 2023-2024 and highlighted the importance of strengthening the coordination of positions within this group as well as in other multilateral environmental forums.
26. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the ongoing negotiation of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, also in the marine environment, and called for the integration of funding requirements under the substantive provisions and the establishment of a dedicated multilateral fund in order to address the funding needs.
27. The Ministers exchanged views on policies aimed at promoting the sustainable use of oceans, as well as strategic measures to achieve the SDG 14 within the IBSA. They expressed their support for the creation of the South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary (SAWS), to be established under the framework of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The Ministers also welcomed the adoption of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, as an important milestone to provide stronger protection of marine biodiversity in the High Seas. They acknowledged that the conservation and sustainable use of marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction, considered as common heritage of humankind in the BBNJ Agreement, presents an opportunity for cooperation among IBSA countries.
28. They reaffirmed their commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), its Kyoto Protocol and its Paris Agreement. They welcomed the "UAE Consensus", adopted by COP28, which commits to accelerate climate action in this critical decade on the basis of the best available science, reflecting equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty. They highlighted their full support to significantly enhancing international cooperation and the international enabling environment to stimulate ambition in the next round of nationally determined contributions, with a view to enhancing action and implementation over this critical decade and keeping 1.5 °C within reach.
29. The Ministers further reiterated their support to Azerbaijan’s Presidency of COP29, in 2024, set to adopt a new collective quantified goal (NCQG) from a floor of USD 100 billion per year, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries. They recalled that the COP28 decision on the global stock take recognized the growing gap between the needs of developing country Parties and the support provided and mobilized for their efforts to implement their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), highlighting that such needs are currently estimated at USD 5.8–5.9 trillion for the pre-2030 period.
30. They also reaffirmed their support to Brazil’s Presidency of COP30, in 2025, when Parties to the Paris Agreement will be presenting their second round of NDCs. They recalled that COP28 encouraged Parties to come forward in their next NDCs with ambitious, economy-wide emission reduction targets, covering all greenhouse gases, sectors and categories.
31. The Ministers reiterated the importance of global goals set out in the UNFCCC’s Paris Agreement and welcomed the operationalisation of the UAE Work Programme on Just Transition, with its inclusive vision on just transition pathways, addressing both the national and international dimensions and all sectors of society. They also emphasized that the main bottleneck for transformative change in energy systems is access to affordable financing, technology and critical minerals, particularly for developing countries. In this regard, they called on developed countries to play a decisive role in filling this widening financing gap.
32. The Ministers stressed that socially and environmentally sustainable mining is key for clean energy technologies to be deployed. They further agreed that the countries where those strategic minerals are available should have the opportunity to be a part of the global value chains rather than just be exporters of raw materials. They called on developed countries to promote investment in processing, refining and adding value to strategic minerals in resource-rich countries while also working towards enhancing the circularity of critical minerals, and stressed the importance of following Indian G20 presidency voluntary high-level principles for Collaboration on Critical Minerals for Energy Transitions.
33. The Ministers expressed grave concern over rising unilateral coercive and trade distorting measures such as carbon border taxes, adopted by developed countries under the pretext of climate action and protecting the environment. Such unilateral measures threaten the sustainable development of developing countries and will exacerbate the current outflow of capital from the global South to the global North, negating climate financing commitments of developed countries. They undertake to work together and with like-minded countries to adopt appropriate responses or counter-measures.
34. The Ministers reinforced the need for a reformed and more representative governance structure in international financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, with increased participation of developing countries. The Ministers urged these institutions to simplify procedures, reduce loan conditionalities and promote greater space for domestic development policies.
35. The Ministers underlined the pressing issue of debt vulnerability in developing countries, which affects both low and middle-income countries. They highlighted the priority and urgency of addressing this challenge. The Ministers reminded that the last round of accelerated increases in international interest rates resulted in a debt crisis in the countries from the Global South and a lost decade in terms of economic growth and development. They recalled that industrialisation, economic diversification and the production of higher value-added goods are crucial for development. They reaffirmed that developing countries must continue to fight for greater access to international markets for their goods and services and combat the current wave of renewed protectionism.
36. The Ministers reaffirmed the centrality of the rules-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, fair, equitable, open and inclusive multilateral trading system (MTS), with the WTO at its core, and its role in promoting predictability, stability, legal certainty and a level playing field for international trade while preserving special and differential treatment for developing countries including LDCs. The Ministers remained committed to working constructively to reform and strengthen the multilateral trading system and emphasized the need to restore a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system by 2024 as mandated in the MC12 outcome document. The Ministers commended the successful conclusion of MC12 that underscores the value of multilateralism. They encouraged the wider WTO membership to sustain momentum and achieve further meaningful outcomes by MC13.
37. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening even further agricultural cooperation among IBSA, including within multilateral organizations. The members underscored that open, reliable, non-discriminatory and uninterrupted international trade in agriculture and its inputs is one of the important avenues to address the global food security crises. The Ministers also highlighted the need for agricultural trade to be free from unilateral restrictions and protectionist measures, contrary to WTO rules.
38. The Ministers reaffirmed G20’s role as the premier forum for international economic cooperation and highlighted that the three IBSA countries currently comprise the group's troika. They commended the successful hosting of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Rio de Janeiro and expressed their full support to the Brazilian G20 Presidency. The sequence of four developing countries in the presidency of the group (Indonesia, 2022; India, 2023; Brazil, 2024; South Africa, 2025) constitutes a valuable opportunity to further integrate a developmental perspective into the G20 agenda and further amplify the voice of the Global South. The Ministers again welcomed the entrance of the African Union into the G20 as a permanent member last year. They reiterated the need for macroeconomic policy coordination in the G20, with the aim of achieving strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth and minimizing negative spillovers and external shocks. They also agreed to cooperate on issues of common interest, particularly social inclusion and food security, accelerating progress on the SDGs, environment and climate change, and global governance reform.
39. Concerned with rising income and wealth inequality within and across countries, the Ministers support initiatives to enhance tax cooperation and build more progressive taxation systems, capable of effectively closing existing loopholes, fighting tax evasion, and making the world's richest individuals pay their fair share in taxes. They applaud ongoing efforts at tax reform in India and Brazil and continue to call for the exchange of best practices and tax cooperation among IBSA countries. The Ministers also applaud AGNU Resolution 78/230 on the promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations and support the convening of a United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, and will continue to work together to foster the interests of developing countries in ongoing OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS negotiations. They welcome the ambitious international taxation agenda proposed by the Brazilian G20 Presidency, including the proposal of a G20 declaration on international tax cooperation.
40. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring a trusted, open, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful cyberspace. The Ministers highlighted that the United Nations General Assembly is the appropriate forum for a global dialogue on international security related to the ICTs, where broad, common understandings have and can continue to be achieved. This dialogue, with strong participation from nations from the Global South, is essential to allow countries to benefit from the digital transformation, including through Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) platforms, while preventing threats to peace and security stemming from the already ubiquitous and borderless digital realm. In this context, the Ministers expressed their strong support to the establishment, by consensus, within the framework of the ongoing Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) (2021-2025), of a single-track, intergovernmental, open, inclusive, permanent, flexible, transparent and action-oriented regular institutional dialogue mechanism, reporting to the First Committee of the UNGA. The Ministers emphasized international cooperation for bridging the digital divides and welcomed the establishment of IBSA cooperation on cyber-related issues, including emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
41. The Ministers stressed the importance of science, technology, and innovation to fulfil the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and committed to foster research, development and innovation in order to tackle those societal challenges. They also underscored the relevance of effective science communication including the importance of regional languages /dialects to spread awareness on the availability, accessibility and utility of these advanced technologies to various segments of society as well as to acquire periodic feedback on effectiveness of these technologies from all relevant stakeholders.
42. The Ministers emphasized the goal of improving people's lives and bridging the digital divides, in line with the consensus reached during the World Summits of the Information Society (WSIS), by achieving a human-centered, inclusive, and ethical approach to the responsible development, deployment and use of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). In that sense, they stressed the opportunity that the upcoming United Nations Summit of the Future can give direction towards enhanced global digital governance that is effective, inclusive and fair, provided that the proposed Global Digital Compact (GDC), to be agreed upon during the Summit, creates mechanisms to ensure that all countries benefit from the ongoing technological revolution.
43. Regarding both the GDC and the WSIS+20 revision process as opportunities to consolidate and update the development perspective enshrined in Geneva and Tunis and to discuss innovative multilateral and multistakeholder arrangements, leading to collective action and effective global digital governance, the Ministers reaffirmed IBSA’s commitment to ensure, in different international forums, that emerging technology solutions, including for Artificial Intelligence, are to be developed, deployed and used in a human centric used in a responsible and ethical way, with a view to minimize the risks arising from these technologies, especially for developing countries, such as, but not limited to, potential negative impacts on the job market and the proliferation of AI enhanced disinformation campaigns.
44. The Ministers look forward to the diplomatic conference to be organized by WIPO in May 2024 on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. They expect that the conference will reach an internationally binding legal instrument establishing a minimum standard for the protection of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. The Ministers share the understanding that this protection under the intellectual property system provides an important contribution towards achieving a balanced protection for scientific and technological innovation on one hand and sustainable development, biodiversity conservation and the human rights of traditional communities on the other.
45. The Ministers confirmed the importance of preserving BRICS outcomes and underscored the continued relevance of upholding previous decisions, including the approved Guiding Principles, Standards, Criteria and Procedures for BRICS membership expansion.
46. The Ministers agreed that the Summit will have an outreach session with selected countries that share IBSA’s vision for peace, global governance reform, sustainable development, and the fight against poverty and hunger, as such countries can serve as a bridge for South-South and South-North dialogue and cooperation.
47. The Ministers expressed their commitment to working together to ensure the success of the VI IBSA Summit, to be held in Brazil.
48. The Ministers of India and South Africa thanked the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil for hosting the IBSA Standalone Meeting.
Rio de Janeiro,
February 22, 2024