Foreign media: India promotes the African Union to join the G20 | African Union | Modi | India

In September this year, the G20 summit will be held in New Delhi, India. According to reports, Indian Prime Minister Modi has written to G20 leaders proposing to approve the African Union as a full member of the G20 at that time.

The public has noticed that the prospect of the African Union joining the group has been supported by China, the United States, France, and other parties. The joining of the African Union will significantly expand the population coverage of the G20. At the same time, India's active promotion seems to have its own considerations.

G21?

Reuters reported on the 18th, citing official sources, that Modi has written to G20 leaders proposing to grant formal and permanent membership to the African Union at the New Delhi summit.

"This will be the right step towards a fair, equitable, more inclusive, and representative global architecture and governance," the source said. "The Prime Minister firmly believes that countries in the South, especially in Africa, should speak louder on international platforms."

The G20 was established in 1999 and consists of 20 parties including China, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union; The population accounts for two-thirds of the world, the land area accounts for about 60% of the world, the gross domestic product accounts for 85% of the world, and the trade volume accounts for 80% of the world.

It can be seen that G20 members have a wide coverage and strong representativeness, including major developed economies and emerging market economies, playing a crucial role in global affairs.

However, compared to the participation of multiple European powers and the European Union, the representation of African countries within the G20 appears to be insufficient, with only South Africa being a formal member.

In this context, the call for the African Union to gain a place within the G20 has been increasing in recent years.

Last July, Senegalese President Maki Sal proposed for the African Union to join the group. He explained that Africa is both affected by urgent challenges such as climate change and pandemics, and can contribute to solving these problems. The lack of participation from African countries is not conducive to the development of the G20.

There are also reports that South African President Ramaphosa is actively promoting the inclusion of the African Union. This month, Ramaphosa had a conversation with Modi.

Self consideration?

The public opinion has noticed that India's active promotion of the African Union's "membership" has occurred in multiple contexts, so there may be multiple considerations.

Firstly, Reuters stated that this move demonstrates India's commitment to strengthening Africa's representation and partnership in shaping global affairs. After India took over the G20 rotating presidency in November last year, Modi repeatedly emphasized the importance of inclusivity and representativeness in current international affairs.

It is reported that in addition to international organizations such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, this year's G20 summit will also invite nine non G20 members as guests, including Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain, Nigeria, and others.

Secondly, as India increasingly portrays itself as a spokesperson for developing and underdeveloped countries, India has been paying more attention to Africa in recent years.

According to sources, the idea of promoting the African Union's accession to the G20 emerged after the Global Voice of the South summit held in January this year. This online summit led by India mainly discusses issues such as financial development and energy security in developing countries, with the participation of many African leaders. Sources said that the "joining group" discussion subsequently took place at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, in recent years, the topic of "global southern" has been increasingly heated. In addition to India, Japan, the rotating chairman of the G7 this year, has also turned its attention to the "global south". Like India, Japan also recognizes the important role played by the "global south" in the international community.

This can be seen from the list of "guests" invited by Japan this year. According to Japanese media reports, Japan invited leaders from India, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, Comoros and other countries to attend the expanded G7 Hiroshima Summit last month.

The "Global South" includes developing countries in Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia. In the vast Asia Africa Latin America region, many countries particularly need resources such as technology and funding to promote development and address urgent challenges such as poverty.

In addition, the Indian Express also wrote that promoting the African Union's accession to the G20 seems to help India fulfill its desire to become a member of the United Nations Security Council. Delhi is eager to gain the support of African countries with 54 seats.

Multi party support

The African Union currently has 55 members, formerly known as the Organization of African Unity established in 1963. If the African Union joins the group, it will significantly expand the population coverage of the G20.

According to insiders, whether the African Union can "join the group" depends on the consensus of G20 members. The public has noticed that the prospect of the African Union joining the group has previously received support from China, the United States, and France.

Last month, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang attended a reception celebrating Africa Day in Beijing and stated that China has always supported Africa to play a greater role on the world stage, insisting on speaking up for Africa in multilateral occasions such as the United Nations, and is the first country to explicitly support the African Union's accession to the G20.

At the US Africa Summit held in December last year, US President Biden also called for the African Union to become a full member of the G20.

According to reports, in November last year, French President Macron stated during the G20 Bali Summit that he supported "full integration of the African Union into the G20" to "express true unity with the South.".

At the end of last year, Saleh visited Japan and his demand for the African Union to join the G20 was actively responded to by the Japanese side.

The Canadian Globe and Mail reported that the prospect of the African Union joining the group is also supported by Indonesia, the previous rotating chairman of the G20. However, the African Union was unable to join the group at the Bali Summit held at the end of last year. However, some observers have noticed that the African Union has been developing for some time, and the "trend" is undergoing a transformation.