By Johnathan Paoli
President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed the India-Brazil-South Africa bloc as a vehicle for tangible development cooperation and a catalyst for global transformation.
Addressing the IBSA Dialogue Forum on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg on Sunday, the president reaffirmed the centrality of IBSA in reshaping global governance and highlighted it’ growing influence.
“IBSA is a catalyst for global transformation. Together, we represent not only the aspirations of our own citizens, but the hopes of a Global South that seeks dignity, respect and partnership in shaping the future,” President Ramaphosa said.
The president said the trio’s major democracies were no longer passive participants in multilateral structures but were increasingly shaping the global agenda in ways that reflected the needs and aspirations of the Global South.
He described IBSA as a testament to the durability of principled and constructive cooperation, noting that the grouping has remained cohesive despite geopolitical turbulence.
He said IBSA’s greatest strength was on its diversity, spanning three continents, varied political traditions and distinct development models, yet united by shared values of equality, democratic governance and solidarity.
Throughout his address, the president framed IBSA not simply as a diplomatic platform but as a vehicle for tangible development cooperation.
He highlighted the IBSA Fund, one of the longest-running South-South development mechanisms, as proof of the forum’s ability to demonstrate the practical value of association, particularly in the assistance provided for those most in need.
“We have always been proud of the frankness of our discussions, our appetite for reflection and our continuous quest for lasting solutions to the economic and social challenges that confront all of us,” he said.
Over the past year under South Africa’s presidency, the Fund is understood to have expanded support for food security initiatives in the Sahel, community health projects in Latin America, and renewable-energy capacity programmes in small island developing states.
As South Africa gears itself to chair of IBSA, Ramaphosa promised that the country intended to use its tenure to strengthen dialogue, accelerate joint initiatives and advance the bloc’s founding goals.
Pretoria’s priorities include coordinated advocacy for reform of global institutions such as the United Nations Security Council, the World Trade Organisation and the international financial architecture.
“Together, we must champion ambitious reform of global governance institutions,” he said.
He warned that the structural fragilities of the global economy, including widening inequality, could not be addressed without a new paradigm of inclusive economic growth.
Climate action and just energy transitions featured prominently and Ramaphosa urged deeper cooperation on green technologies and equitable pathways away from fossil fuels.
He emphasised the need for joint efforts to safeguard food and health security, ensure the fair distribution of technological gains and issues that have disproportionately affected developing countries during recent global shocks.
The president further argued that IBSA must position itself as a co-architect of a more representative and responsive multilateral system, insisting that the Global South could no longer be peripheral in decision-making structures.
Ramaphosa expressed the hope that an in-person IBSA Leaders’ Summit, delayed since 2018, would be scheduled soon.
He said South Africa aims to “revitalise our interactions and renew our determination” during its chairmanship and committed South Africa to strengthening South-South cooperation at a time of growing geopolitical fragmentation and economic uncertainty.
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