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.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
