Pretoria - India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) have joined forces to help boost job creation globally.
IBSA launched a South-South cooperation programme at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva, to help the global economy rebound after the recession.
The programme aims to promote a job-intensive recovery from the global economic downturn, create a framework for sustainable growth and support for the ILO Global Jobs Pact.
"It reflects the view of the IBSA governments that through a spirit of solidarity and non-conditionality, developing countries can provide sustainable solutions to their own problems, can change people's lives and make a positive impact.
"The purpose ... is to promote national ownership of the project, strengthen local capacity, and ensure sustainable development," the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, the UN honoured IBSA for their efforts in the fight against poverty using innovative approaches to share, replicate and scale up successful development paradigms.
Each IBSA country contributes US$1 million annually to a fund which is managed by the UN Development Programme Special Unit for South-South Cooperation. Projects are executed by various UN agencies and partners across the globe, with a strong emphasis on national ownership.
These projects focus on the sharing of best practices and proven experiences, and include initiatives as diverse as improving agricultural techniques in remote villages, reducing urban violence in slums, or delivering safe drinking water.
Current IBSA initiatives include projects in Haiti, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Burundi, Palestine, Cambodia and Lao PDR.
IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between the three countries aimed at promoting South-South cooperation and exchange. The group, which was established in 2003 to boost South-South ties, has a total population of about 1.4 billion and the Gross Domestic Product of over 3.2 trillion US dollars.
