The Africa South America Summit 27-28 September 2009

The second Africa South America Summit, held on Margarita Island, Venezuela, aimed to strengthen South-South cooperation as a counterweight to Northern influence. Key outcomes included the formalization of the Bank of the South to reduce reliance on the World Bank and IMF, the establishment of a Radio of the South, and joint mining ventures between Venezuela and several African nations. While Brazil reported a significant increase in bilateral trade from $6 billion in 2003 to over $36 billion by 2009, the summit was marked by ideological divisions, with some leaders pursuing a radical anti-imperialist agenda while others, including South Africa and Brazil, adopted a more nuanced approach to international relations.

• The summit resulted in the formalization of the Bank of the South, an institution intended to challenge the dominance of Northern-controlled financial entities like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund by creating a separate South-South financial system.
• Bilateral commercial exchanges between Africa and South America grew significantly between 2003 and 2009, rising from $6 billion to more than $36 billion following the first summit in Abuja.
• Venezuela expanded its economic ties with Africa during the summit by signing memoranda of understanding for joint mining ventures with Mauritania, Mali, Namibia, Niger, and Sierra Leone.
• The summit exhibited ideological fragmentation among South American participants, with some nations supporting a radical 'anti-imperialist' agenda and others, such as Brazil and Argentina, maintaining a more moderate stance.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2009). The Africa South America Summit 27-28 September 2009. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-africa-south-america-summit-27-28-september-2009/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. The Africa South America Summit 27-28 September 2009. 2009. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-africa-south-america-summit-27-28-september-2009/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=The Africa South America Summit 27-28 September 2009 |date=30 September 2009 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/the-africa-south-america-summit-27-28-september-2009/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2009africa, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{The Africa South America Summit 27-28 September 2009}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2009}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/the-africa-south-america-summit-27-28-september-2009/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }