There is a visible lack of coordination among the three member countries. The three countries have to synergise their efforts and build upon mutual complementarities.
It is also felt that all three countries of the forum face severe challenges and competition from other countries of their respective regions for the leadership role. For instance, India faces challenges from Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia; South Africa from Nigeria and Egypt and Brazil from Argentina and Mexico.
The agreements individual members have signed with other international organisations/entities can have an impact on the coordination and functioning of the forum.
There are several internal issues that trouble the three member countries – corruption, increasing crime rates, political violence, economic inequality, etc., which need to be addressed properly by the individual countries for the forum to be successful.
IBSA lacks economic cooperation hence there should be more effective framework for economic cooperation.
Assessment
The potential of the IBSA forum as a strategic partnership between three regional powers from three different continents is beyond doubt. Compared to other multilateral fora of which India is a member (e.g. IOR-ARC, BIMSTEC) IBSA’s record is quite creditable.
However, the grouping should move in due course from being a forum for dialogue to becoming a vehicle for concrete socio-economic cooperation so that its benefits are shared by the common man as well. Awareness about IBSA is low and needs to be increased.
Member countries need to address the limitations and challenges the forum faces. It remains to be seen how the forum plays a role in the international arena and influences multilateral entities like WTO and the UN.
About UNOSSC
In 1974, the United Nations General Assembly, endorsed the establishment of a special unit within the United Nations Development Programme to promote technical co-operation among developing countries. With the endorsement of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries by the General Assembly in 1978, the Special Unit was strengthened in order to fulfil its primary mandate set forth in BAPA.
Its name was then changed to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) by High-level Committee decision 17/1 of 2 April 2012 and endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 67/39.
The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) was established to promote, coordinate and support South-South and triangular cooperation globally and within the United Nations system.
UNOSSC receives policy directives and guidance from the General Assembly and through its subsidiary body, the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation.
Q. What is IBSA dialogue forum? Explain the relevance of IBSA for India and highlight the limitations of organization.
India-Japan Agreement On Technology Training
India signed a memorandum of cooperation with Japan to send youngsters there as technical interns for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years.
