The 6th India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Women’s Forum meeting was held in a virtual mode on 16th March 2021. The event was led by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, witnessed the participation of Ministers and officials responsible for Women Affairs of IBSA Countries.
Key Points
- The Session began with the Opening Remarks by Secretary, Women & Child Development, Government of India.
- The inaugural Address of the meeting was delivered by Smriti Zubin Irani, the Chair of the 6th IBSA Women’s Forum and India’s Minister of Women and Child Development.
- Irani shed light on how the year 2020 has seen that the rights of women and girls gaining prominence, universality with more urgency than ever before.
- During the consultation, the Forum discussed major issues contributing towards the transformation of the lives of women; by highlighting policies, initiatives, and best practices for a gender-inclusive economy for transformation as well as for the elimination of gender-based discrimination and violence against women.
- The Forum emphasized the need to raise a voice on different multilateral fora to point out the development priorities of the associate countries and emphasized how gender equality makes sound economic sense.
- The participating countries also lauded the efforts of the Indian Government in helping out other countries to overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic by way of providing vaccines, masks, sanitizers, PPE Kits, etc.
- The Forum has also decided to take forward its vision of improving the status and condition of women by addressing structural and institutional barriers as well as strengthening gender mainstreaming.
- A joint declaration was also issued pointing out the shared IBSA goals and commitments for achieving gender equality in all spheres of life.
IBSA Trilateral Cooperation Forum
The India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Trilateral Cooperation Forum is a unique platform that brings together South Africa, India, and Brazil. All three partners are developing multi-cultural, pluralistic, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multilingual nations.
IBSA is committed to inclusive sustainable development, in pursuit of the well-being of its citizens and those from other developing nations. The principles, norms, and values underpinning the IBSA Dialogue Forum are respect for human rights, participatory democracy, the Rule of Law, and the strengthening of multilateralism. IBSA lays efforts in the South-South cooperation beyond the conventional areas of exchange of experts and training.
