Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Tuesday hoped that changes sweeping several countries in the Middle East and north Africa will follow a peaceful course and expressed confidence of a positive outcome in harmony with the aspirations of people.

India’s External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Brazil’s Minister of External Relations Antonio de Aguiar Patriota and South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabade, who met in New Delhi Monday for the seventh ministerial meeting of the IBSA Dialogue Forum, stated that they intended to discuss the current security situation (in the Middle East and northern Africa) with a view to making a positive contribution.

The statement said that the ministers “closely attentive to the present political unrest in several Middle Eastern and northern African countries, stressed their expectation that the changes sweeping the region follow a peaceful course. They expressed their confidence in a positive outcome in harmony with the aspirations of the peoples”.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had said earlier that India would take a decision on any resolution before the UN Security Council demanding a no-fly zone over Libya after consulting other stakeholders like Egypt’s neighbours, the Arab League and BRIC countries that also include Russia, China and Brazil.

India, Brazil and South Africa are non-permanent members of Security Council at present.

Referring to the IBSA ministerial declaration in Brasilia in April last year when a meeting with the Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki was held, the ministers stated their conviction that the recent developments in the region may offer a chance for a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

“This process should include the solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the resumption of negotiations that will lead to a two-state solution, with the creation of a sovereign, democratic, independent, united and viable Palestinian state, coexisting peacefully alongside Israel, within secure, pre-1967 borders, and with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the statement said.

Pointing to the joint statement of the IBSA ministerial meeting held in New York in February this year concerning countries that risk of lapsing or relapsing into conflict, the ministers underlined the key role of development strategies for sustainable peace.

“In that sense, they recalled that IBSA countries are sponsoring projects in Palestine, such as the construction of a Multipurpose Sports Center in Ramallah and the creation of a Palestinian Youth Sports League,” the statement said.

Pointing to developing countries which share the same challenges for ensuring sustainable development, the ministers said they were willing to cooperate with other Arab countries to address social and economic issues aimed at long-term stability and recovery, whenever requested.