Johannesburg, Oct 18: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left here for home today after attending the Second India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit.

Earlier, Dr Singh had paid a three-day visit to Nigeria, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 45 years.

The two-day Summit of IBSA, the fledgling tri-nation grouping of the major economies of Asia, Latin America and Africa, provided a framework for mutual cooperation in various fields and a forum for interaction on regional and multilateral issues besides South-South cooperation.

A Joint Declaration was issued at the end of the Summit, which sought to enable the strengthening and deepening of South-South cooperation.

The Prime Minister also held bilateral meetings with South African President Thabo Mbeki and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after the summit meeting.

Prior to the IBSA Summit, a series of important activities were held here. These included an Academic Seminar, a Business Seminar, a Women's Forum and a Parliamentary Forum.

The Indian complement at the Business Seminar comprised representatives from FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM.

India was represented by MPs Sandeep Dikshit, Jitin Prasad, Harin Pathak and Alok Kumar Mehta at the Parliamentary Forum. In the Women's Forum, Indian delegation was led by the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, and included representatives from NGOs such as Guild of Service, Women's Power Connect and a representative of Amul.

IBSA is a unique forum which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies from three different continents. It provides an important instrumentality for cooperation on regional and international issues of common concern such as climate change, reform of the UN, WTO negotiations, cooperation in civil nuclear energy and terrorism.

The first IBSA Summit was held in Brasilia in 2006.


UNI