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This paper assesses the role of the BASIC countries — Brazil, South Africa, India, and China — in UN climate change negotiations. The paper explores the formation and evolution of the group, and focuses on how the four major developing countries of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa have coordinated their positions and acted jointly to achieve an agreed outcome with other players in the recent UN Climate Change Conferences in Copenhagen and Cancun, based on an analysis of their country profiles and negotiation positions on a wide range of climate issues. The paper argues that the emergence of the BASIC Group is a reflection of the ongoing power shift from EU–US agreement to BASIC–US compromise in UN climate negotiations since the early 1990s. The rise of BASIC also has its roots in recent global market dynamics and further reflects the power transformation in the economic dimension of the international system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relations of India and Pakistan with Africa. It cites that India has introduced multifaceted policy initiatives and keeps diplomatic relations with 26 states in Africa. It notes that the interaction of Pakistan with Africa in peacekeeping operations of United Nations (UN) is the former's major contribution to the latter. It states that Pakistan's effort to Africa had been outperformed by India due to lack of significant policy.

The article discusses the South-South Cooperation of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) political alliance. It notes that IBSA's agenda focuses on the trilateral cooperation on security, bio-fuels, trade, research and development, and social development. It speculates that the initiatives of IBSA such as the United Nations (UN) reform will demonstrate slower progress. It advises that IBSA must settle their views on nuclear disarmament and World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiation issues.