In the sphere of international economic cooperation and alliance-building, the Indo-Pacific region is somewhat anomalous in that it is frequently discussed and analyzed in the context of blocs such as the QUAD or the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) (with the participation of developed economies) rather than the South-South trade cooperation potential. A coherent vision of the latter appears to be lacking at this stage and there may be a need to formulate a framework of economic alliances in the region focused on driving greater South-South trade on the basis of the already existing agreements. The resulting network of economic connectivity in the Indo-Pacific may complement other potential South-South as well as North-South frameworks in the Southern Hemisphere and the equatorial belt to create a wider area of economic cooperation that may countervail the protectionist pressures coming from other parts of the global economy.

Importantly, there is already a foundation for building a framework for South-South cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region on the back of the existing trade agreements or those in the process of negotiations. A key pillar within such a potential platform is the India-ASEAN FTA agreement that entered into force in 2010 – at this stage it may be seen as the center of economic gravity in the juncture point that connects the regions of the Indian ocean and the Pacific basins. The free trade area came into effect on 1 January 2010 but was limited only to the liberalization of trade in goods. The agreement eliminates tariffs for 75% of goods traded between ASEAN and India, while for a further 10% of product lines, the agreement commits participating economies to reduce tariffs below 5%. Henceforth, in addition to the agreement on trade in goods, the India ASEAN Agreement on Services and Investment was signed in November, 2014 with implementation envisaged for 2015. The overall ASEAN-India trade accord is now referred to as the India-ASEAN Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (IACECA), with a further review of this agreement currently in progress.

Another key trajectory of South-South economic cooperation in the region is the India-SACU Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) that is currently being negotiated – this is to become India’s first trade liberalization agreement with a regional bloc from Africa. Since the start of the negotiations in 2007 five rounds of talks on the conclusion of the PTA agreement have been held until 2010. The PTA accord is expected to be scaled up to the level of a Free-trade agreement (FTA) with Namibia and India calling for fast-tracking the trade accord in mid-2025. During his address to the Namibian Parliament in mid-2025, India’s leader Narendra Modi declared: “the India–SACU PTA can be a transformative platform for regional trade, investment and value chain integration.”. In February 2026, South Africa’s High Commissioner to India Anil Sooklal stated that both sides agreed to expedite the discussions on the conclusion of the FTA, with the accord expected to significantly boost trade and investment between India and the SACU bloc. The India-South Africa connection is critical within the broader framework of India-Africa cooperation, as South Africa is India’s largest trading partner accounting for approximately 20% of India’s total trade with the African continent.

The resulting triad of developing economies that serve as potential focal points of South-South economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific includes the largest economies from Africa, South Asia and ASEAN – South Africa, India and Indonesia respectively. This triad of the Global South in the Indo-Pacific may be further scaled up to the level of the respective regional integration arrangements – the South African Customs Union (SACU), ASEAN and BIMSTEC/SAARC. With respect to the coordination of South-South cooperation across the Southern Hemisphere, the linkages across the South Atlantic, Indo-Pacific and South Pacific are predicated on the leading roles of Brazil and South Africa (South Atlantic), South Africa, India and Indonesia in the Indo-Pacific as well as Indonesia and Chile/Peru in the South Pacific. The corresponding chain of connections across the respective regional integration arrangements of the Global South then includes Mercosur, SACU, SAARC/BIMSTEC, ASEAN, Pacific Alliance.

Going forward, it will be important to link these regional focal points, with the understanding that the Indo-Pacific is critical to establishing greater connectivity between the regions of Southeast Asia that is one of the fastest growing regions of the world economy and Africa that is one of the regions of the developing world with the greatest growth potential. The current framework of South-South cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region is based on India serving to some degree as an intermediary of greater Asia-Africa connectivity via the India-ASEAN and the potential India-SACU FTAs. But with India and South Asia yet to develop a more rigorous framework of regionalism with respect to BIMSTEC and SAARC and given the relatively high level of import restrictions in South Asia, there may be a need to forge ahead with closer direct linkages between Southeast Asia and Africa via ASEAN-SACU and ASEAN-AfCFTA FTAs/economic partnerships.

In the end, the Global South may build its network of alliances in the Indo-Pacific by strengthening the linkages between the key juncture points in the region – South Africa-India-Indonesia/ASEAN. Together with Brazil leading the South Atlantic connectivity effort across the Global South, this may position the IBSA economies – or the IBSA+ (that may include Indonesia, Chile and Peru) – as the critical chain in the Southern Hemisphere’s key regional formations – South Atlantic, South Pacific and the Indo-Pacific regions. This connectivity role may present a new dimension and elevate the scale and ambition of the IBSA grouping on the international stage. While in the Northern Hemisphere the BRICS troika/RICs of China-India-Russia plays a crucial role in connectivity across the landmasses of Eurasia, IBSA+ may lead the connectivity efforts across the maritime expanses of the South Atlantic, Indian ocean and the South Pacific basin of the world economy.

Yaroslav Lissovolik is the Founder of BRICS+ Analytics.