New Delhi, Aug 11 (Bureau) India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA), united in their practise of democratic ideals and longstanding battle against uprooting colonial legacies, have high stakes in expediting reforms of multilateral bodies including the UN and the IMF, said Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh here today. Inaugurating the 7th IBSA Academic Forum, being held virtually on August 11-12, Singh highlighted that alliances in the Global South can help implement the development agenda with values of equality, non-conditionality, and non-interference at its core, while stressing the centrality of the Sustainable Development Goals and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and respective capabilities, a statement said. He appreciated the efforts under the ongoing IBSA fellowship programme and making an indelible contribution to advancing partnership and collaboration.
He also noted that the IBSA Fund has performed exceptionally well since its inception, and represents a model of cooperation that truly reinforces the ‘southern development’ narrative and advances multilateral solutions for achieving SDGs. Singh, in a tweet, said he was happy to inaugurate the 7th IBSA Academic Forum. He said it is ‘One of the important pillars for exchanging of ideas and thoughts on various areas of IBSA cooperation.’ Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, tweeted that Dammu Ravi, Secretary Economic Relations, MEA, had ‘a fruitful and productive conversation with IBSA colleagues on Economic Partnerships’. During the talks, Ravi ‘underscored the complementarities that like-minded major developing economies IBSA partners enjoy’. The two-day event features a conversation with IBSA Sherpas on economic partnerships that will, among other things, help economic integration and cooperation in creating resilient value chains post-Pandemic, and accelerate the digital and green transition processes. India is the incumbent Chair of IBSA. IBSA brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three different continents, facing similar challenges.