External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who is visiting the United States, met with his Brazilian and South African counterparts as part of the IBSA group, to further strengthen South-South cooperation.
“A very productive IBSA meeting with Foreign Ministers Mauro Vieira and Naledi Pandor on #UNGA78 sidelines,” Mr. Jaishankar said, remarking that the meeting’s outcome demonstrated solidarity between nations of the Global South. The Minister is in New York to address the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and for plurilateral and bilateral meetings.
Global South interests
IBSA’s joint communique, released on Saturday, announced that a standalone meeting of Foreign Ministers would be held in the first quarter of 2024. The statement reaffirmed the “strategic significance” in advancing and protecting the interests of the Global South, noting the countries were focused on, among other things, “upholding independent foreign policies”, while calling for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to principles of the UN Charter, “such as equal sovereignty and non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, greater democracy and the rule of law in international relations”, as per the communique.
Paralysis of UNSC reform talks
International humanitarian law, respect for human rights, territorial integrity and reformed multilateralism were also reaffirmed in the document. The group expressed its “frustration with the paralysis” of intergovernmental negotiations on UN Security Council (UNSC) reform and, more generally, comprehensive UN reform. It called for text-based negotiations, with fixed timelines and in a formal setting, to be held during the 78th UNGA session.
Backing the aspirations of India, Brazil and African countries for permanent seats on the UNSC, the communique also called for increasing permanent and non-permanent membership of the Council, to include wider representation from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
UN sanctions reform
The group agreed to push for the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN, and “reaffirmed the sole authority of the UN Security Council for imposing sanctions”. It also called for urgent reform of the UNSC sanctions committees, with a view to increasing their effectiveness, “while avoiding politicization and double standards”.
New Delhi’s pursuit of UN sanctions on terrorists has, on multiple occasions, been frustrated because Beijing has wielded its veto to hold up listings. India has also opposed and tried to find workarounds to non-UN backed economic sanctions, such as in the case of western economic sanctions on Iran and Russia.
The Ministers also called for the reform of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and regretted that developed economies had not met their climate finance goal of $100 billion per year by 2020.
Bilateral meetings
Apart from meetings of IBSA and the Quad (India, with Australia, Japan and the U.S.), Mr. Jaishankar held bilateral talks with Australia, Bahrain, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
With Japan’s new Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Mr. Jaishankar discussed the special, strategic, and global partnership, and the regional, multilateral, and global cooperation between the two countries, he said on X (formerly, Twitter).
With Foreign Minister Penny Wong of Australia, Mr. Jaishankar wrote that he had discussed the “positive trajectory” between the two countries and specific steps to take the relationship forward.
With the U.K’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Tariq Ahmed, Mr. Jaishankar said that he had discussed the bilateral relationship and Ukraine.
“Good conversation on connectivity, economic linkages and regional dynamics,” Mr. Jaishankar wrote, describing his meeting with the Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.
