Pretoria - Business must maximise the opportunities provided by the relationship that exists between IBSA countries, says Business Unity South Africa (Busa) CEO Nomaxabiso Majokweni.
"As the private sector, we must make the most of the opportunities provided by the strong political commitment and will demonstrated by our government leaders to improve trade and investment relations among our countries," she said at the IBSA Business Summit.
The India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) grouping is a trilateral developmental initiative between the three countries aimed at promoting South-South cooperation and exchange.
Majokweni said the countries were meeting in an uncertain global economic time where things were changing particularly in developed economies, with a fear of recession and sovereign default.
"The banking sectors amongst IBSA countries all survived the banking crisis. However, our exposure to European sovereign debt poses a serious concern.
"Our respective governments and central banks have and need to continue making bold fiscal (with good debt/GDP ratios) and monetary moves that sustain our economies in challenging times. Of particular importance are those policy interventions aimed at stimulating the real economy."
She said the steps taken should not cut capital expenditure, which was a key stimulus for economic growth, but rather they should be measures to avoid a fiscal debt crisis.
Emerging markets remain a frontier of hope although current growth rates are reduced.
The CEO also presented recommendations emanating from the forum sectors such as healthcare and pharmaceuticals, where observations made included that all three countries needed to produce and promote generic pharmaceutical products.
For the financial and business services sector, it was recommended that there be continued shared learning on rural financial inclusion in areas such as new products and IT connectivity.
