IBSAMAR VII: The seventh edition of maritime exercise IBSAMAR was recently organized from 10th to 12th October 2022 at Port Gqeberha (also known as Port Elizabeth), South Africa.

Key Highlights:

• IBSAMAR is a joint multinational maritime exercise, among the Indian, Brazilian and South Africa navies.
• Note: IBSAMAR is an important part of IBSA trilateral defence cooperation.
• The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted in Simons Town, South Africa in 2018.

Key Points about IBSAMAR VII:

• The opening ceremony of IBSAMAR VII was conducted on 11 Oct 22.
• The debrief and closing ceremony were conducted onboard INS Tarkash off Port Gqeberha.
• The exercise progressed over three days that included both harbour and sea phases.
• The sea phase was held covering a broad spectrum of maritime operations.
• The harbour phase of IBSAMAR VII included professional exchanges such as damage control and fire-fighting drills, Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) and cross boarding lectures and interaction among special forces.
• The Indian Navy was represented in it by the guided missile frigate, INS Tarkash, a Chetak helicopter and MARCOS special forces.
• The objectives of the Joint Maritime Exercise included strengthening maritime relations, promoting joint operational military training, combating maritime crimes, securing Sea Lines of Communication, and enhancing interoperability to pursue common evolutions at sea.

INS Tarkash:

• INS Tarkash is a state-of-the-art stealth frigate of the Indian Navy built by Yantar Shipyard at Kaliningrad, Russia.
• It is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors capable of addressing threats in all three dimensions. It incorporates the latest stealth features such as low radar, infra-red, acoustic and magnetic signatures, making it difficult to detect at sea.
• The ship is part of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy based at Mumbai under the Western Naval Command.
• In 2015, it was part of the Operation Raahat, which was launched to provide protection and assistance to Indian vessels and aircraft involved in the evacuation of Indian citizens from Yemen during the Saudi Arabia-led military intervention in the civil war.
• Just recently, in August 2022, INS Tarkash took part in a Maritime Partnership Exercise with the Brazilian Navy. 
• The exercise involved cross-deck landing, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches and other tactical manoeuvres. 
• The frigate also hoisted the Indian Tricolour on August 15 this year at Rio De Janeiro (Brazil) as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.  

About IBSA:

• IBSA is a unique Forum which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three different continents, facing similar challenges.
• All three countries are developing, pluralistic, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious nations. The grouping was formalized and named the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia on 6 June 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.
• The Brasilia Declaration established a Trilateral Commission at the level of Foreign Ministers.
• The Commission meets regularly.
• The first meeting of the Trilateral Commission was held in New Delhi on 4 - 5 March 2004.
• In addition, Foreign Ministers meet regularly before every IBSA Summit as well as on the sidelines of UNGA in New York.
• India is current IBSA Chair.

Cooperation in IBSA is on three fronts:

• First, as a forum for consultation and coordination on global and regional political issues, such as, the reform of the global institutions of political and economic governance, WTO/Doha Development Agenda, climate change, terrorism etc.;
• Second, trilateral collaboration on concrete areas/projects, through fourteen working groups and six People-to-People Forums, for the common benefit of three countries;
• Third, assisting other developing countries by taking up projects in the latter through IBSA Fund.

IBSA Fund:

• Established in 2004, IBSA Fund (India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation) is a unique Fund through which development projects are executed with IBSA funding in fellow developing countries.
• An annual amount of US $ 1 million is contributed by each IBSA member country.
• The fund is managed by the United Nations (UN) Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). Each IBSA member country is required to contribute $1 million per annum to the fund.

Significance of IBSA:

• The IBSA Dialogue Forum plays an increasingly important role in the foreign policies of India, Brazil, and South Africa.
• It has become instrumental for promoting ever closer coordination on global issues between three large multicultural and multiracial democracies of Asia, South America and Africa, and contributed to enhancing trilateral India-Brazil-South Africa cooperation in sectoral areas.
• It promotes the international poverty alleviation and social development with main focus being on equitable development.
• It also aims to explore avenues to promote cooperation in broad range of areas, which include agriculture, climate change and global warming, culture, defence, education, energy, health, information society, science and technology, social development, trade and investment, tourism and transport.