The African Union has been made a permanent member of the G20, a grouping of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nations, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday during the bloc’s meeting in New Delhi.
The African Union, a continental organization with 55 member nations, now enjoys the same status as the European Union, the only regional group with full membership. It was previously known as an “invited international organization.”
In his opening remarks at the summit, Modi requested the AU, represented by Chairperson Azali Assoumani, to join the G20 leaders at the table as a permanent member.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 family. This will boost the G20 and the voice of the global south,” according to a statement on Modi’s official account on social networking platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Modi proposed the measure in June.
The draft proclamation recognizing the African Union as a permanent member was previously cited by reporters.
Other problems being discussed during the conference include more multilateral lending to developing countries, reform of the international debt architecture, cryptocurrency rules, and the impact of geopolitics on food and energy security.
The 38-page copy circulating among members left the “geopolitical situation” phrase blank, suggesting a significant split over Ukraine’s war, while 75 other paragraphs revealed broad consensus on matters such as cryptocurrency and multilateral development bank reforms.
The G20 historically consisted of 19 countries and the European Union, with members accounting for around 85% of global GDP, more than 75% of global commerce, and almost two-thirds of the global population.
