African Union officially becomes newest permanent member of G20
The Group of 20 now includes 21 members with the AU, alongside 19 other countries and the European Union that are considered the largest economies in the world
The African Union (AU) joined the Group of 20 leading economies as a permanent member, officially announced during a leaders' summit taking place in India on Saturday.
"With everyone's approval, I request the African Union head to take his seat as a permanent G20 member," summit host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said in his opening address.
The AU officially has 55 members, but six coup-led nations are currently suspended. As a whole, the collective has a GDP of $3 trillion and a population of 1.4 billion people. Prior to the announcement, South Africa was the only member state from the continent at the G20, which represents 85 percent of the world GDP, with 19 countries and the EU.
"I welcome the African Union's entry into the G20 as full member. This membership, for which we have long been advocating, will provide a propitious framework for amplifying advocacy in favor of the Continent and its effective contribution to meeting global challenges," AU commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
https://x.com/i/web/status/1700423181104816554
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Modi has painted the summit as India's diplomatic coming-of-age, as he lobbies for the country to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and has termed the summit a "people's G20.” However, the AU membership was speculated to be among the only tangible outcomes from the summit, which may also include a “historic” India to EU trade connection through the Middle East.
The G20 has been notably divided over Russia's war in Ukraine and how to pay for climate change, and finding consensus among its members has been increasingly difficult. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant, is not attending the summit, sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in his stead. Chinese leader Xi Jinping was also not present, sending Premier Li Qiang.