India, Brazil, and South Africa (IBSA) Forum | 25 Nov 2025

Source: IE

Why in News?

On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, India’s Prime Minister met with the Brazilian and South African President to discuss strengthening the IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) forum. 

What is the IBSA Forum?

  • About: IBSA is a unique forum of India, Brazil, and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three continents facing similar challenges. 
    • Formalized as the IBSA Dialogue Forum on 6 June 2003 in Brasilia, issuing the Brasilia Declaration. South Africa is the current IBSA Chair.
    • IBSA does not have a headquarters or a permanent secretariat.
  • Areas of Cooperation: Cooperation in IBSA is on 3 fronts:
    • Political consultation: Coordination on global and regional political issues.
    • Trilateral collaboration: Joint projects through working groups and People-to-People Forums.
    • Assistance to other developing countries: Projects implemented through the IBSA Fund.
  • IBSA Trust Fund: Established in 2004, operational from 2006 for poverty and hunger alleviation.
  • IBSAMAR: Joint multinational maritime exercise among India, Brazil, and South Africa navies. 8th edition held in October 2024 off the coast of South Africa.
  • Initiatives Proposed in 2025: India’s PM proposed a National Security Advisers-level Dialogue for regular security and counter-terrorism consultations among the three countries. 
    • He also suggested an IBSA Fund for Climate-Resilient Agriculture and a Digital Innovation Alliance to share UPI, CoWIN, and cybersecurity frameworks.

What Role Does the IBSA Forum Play in Advancing India’s Interests?

  • Voice of the Global South: IBSA, representing three major democracies and economies from Asia, South America, and Africa, serves as a collective voice to advance the shared interests and development priorities of the Global South.
    • It allows India to assert leadership in the Global South and influence the agenda without the dominance or interference of China, unlike in BRICS or SCO.
  • Advocacy for Multilateral Reform: A key goal of IBSA is to push for global governance reform, especially the UN Security Council (UNSC), as all members are candidates for permanent membership and argue current structures do not reflect 21st-century geopolitics.
    • This aligns directly with India’s quest for a permanent UNSC seat and amplifies its reform agenda.
  • Democracy and Shared Values: IBSA is united by shared values as large, multi-ethnic democracies, enabling cooperation on human-centric development and a rules-based international order.
    • It enhances India’s soft power by positioning it as a responsible "Democratic Anchor" of the developing world, distinguishing it from authoritarian alternatives like China.
  • Practical Cooperation through IBSA Fund: The IBSA Fund exemplifies South-South Cooperation, pooling resources for development projects in health, education, and agriculture, demonstrating solidarity beyond member countries.
    • It provides a low-cost, high-goodwill tool for India to project itself as a benevolent development partner without the accusation of debt-trap diplomacy.
  • Strategic Dialogue on Global Issues: The forum enables coordination on terrorism, climate change, and trade, amplifying their influence in shaping global agendas.
    • It serves as a platform to globalize India’s concerns on cross-border terrorism (demanding "no double standards") and to export Indian solutions like UPI and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to other emerging economies.

What are the Key Roadblocks to Effective IBSA Collaboration?

  • Geopolitical Divergence: Brazil’s fluctuating foreign policy priorities under successive governments and South Africa’s internal political–economic instability dilute strategic convergence.
    • India’s increasing strategic alignment contrasts with Brazil and South Africa’s relatively non-aligned or China-accommodative stances, creating divergence in external outlooks and limiting the scope for deeper trilateral cooperation.
  • Duplication of Agenda with BRICS: Almost every issue IBSA champions (UN reform, Global South development, sustainable energy) is also covered by BRICS.
    • Since BRICS includes China’s massive economic engine, it naturally draws more political capital and attention from Brazil and South Africa.
    • As BRICS expands (adding Egypt, Ethiopia, UAE), IBSA struggles to justify its existence as a separate entity. It risks becoming a "discussion club" while BRICS becomes the "action bloc."
  • Economic Complementarity and Competition: Despite similar economic structures in commodities, agriculture, and services, intra-IBSA trade remains low due to limited supply chains and logistical corridors, creating competition rather than complementarity.
  • Bureaucratic and Institutional Hurdles: IBSA lacks a permanent secretariat, leading to weak institutional memory and slow implementation of projects due to bureaucratic red tape across the three countries.

What are the Future Pathways for IBSA Cooperation? 

  • Focus on Niche Cooperation: Collaborate on democratic governance, climate change and green energy, and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), leveraging shared values and India’s experience with UPI and Aadhaar to benefit the Global South.
  • Enhance Institutional Capacity: Establish a small, permanent IBSA secretariat for continuity and project monitoring, and create an IBSA Business Council to identify trade opportunities and strengthen economic ties.
  • Strategic Alignment and Fund Revitalization: Use IBSA as a caucus within BRICS to coordinate positions and balance China and Russia’s influence, and revitalize the IBSA Fund for poverty and hunger alleviation to showcase effective South-South cooperation.

Conclusion

The IBSA Forum strengthens South-South cooperation, uniting India, Brazil, and South Africa in promoting democracy, climate-resilient development, digital innovation, and global governance reform. It amplifies the Global South’s voice while facilitating strategic dialogue on security, trade, and multilateral issues.

Drishti Mains Question:

Q. Elaborate on the key areas of cooperation under the IBSA framework. Recently, what new initiatives have been proposed to strengthen this trilateral partnership?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the IBSA Forum?

IBSA is a trilateral grouping of India, Brazil, and South Africa, formalized in 2003, promoting political consultation, trilateral cooperation, and South-South development assistance.

2. What is the purpose of the IBSA Fund?

Established in 2004, the IBSA Fund supports development projects in health, education, and poverty alleviation across 34 partner countries, demonstrating South-South cooperation.

3. What strategic initiatives did India propose in 2025 for IBSA?

India proposed a National Security Advisers-level dialogue, an IBSA Fund for Climate-Resilient Agriculture, and a Digital Innovation Alliance for sharing UPI, CoWIN, and cybersecurity frameworks.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Mains

Q. Discuss the impediments India is facing in its pursuit of a permanent seat in the UN Security Council (2015)
Q. “If the last few decades were Asia's growth story, the next few are expected to be Africa's.” In the light of this statement, examine India’s influence in Africa in recent years. (2021)