Trump's attacks push India, Brazil, SA closer

US President Donald Trump’s targeted attacks against three of the world’s major emerging economies are prompting leaders of those countries to forge closer ties and push back against his aggressive trade policies.

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Leaders from India, Brazil and South Africa (Ibsa) met in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit (G20) on Sunday, to give greater importance to a trilateral grouping, the so-called Ibsa forum.

It’s the first time in more than a decade the leaders gathered under the auspices of the grouping, although foreign ministers have done so regularly over the years.

“Our grouping affirms that diversity is not a fault line but a source of strength,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his opening remarks.

“We must position ourselves as co-architects of a more representative and responsive multilateral system.”

Trump has upended Washington’s decades of careful diplomacy to cultivate relations with the three major emerging markets.