The African Union (AU), on September 9, 2023, officially took its seat at the table of the world’s richest and most powerful countries, commonly known as G20,at its last summit in New Delhi with the approval of all and at the request of the summit’s host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Comprised of 19 nations and the EU, Africa had only been marginally represented within the G20 through South Africa’s seat and the AU permanent guest ship but the admission is the first change since the conception of the group in 1999, which brings together 19 of the world’s largest economies plus the European Union, representing 85 per cent of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population.
AU has 55 members
Officially launched in 2002 and based in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, the AU has 55 members (including six suspended because they are under the rule of juntas), representing about 1.4 billion people and around 10 per cent of the world’s economy. The AU has become the second regional organisation to join the G20 after the European Union, totaling three trillion dollars in GDP.
Granting the African Union a permanent seat in the G20 would make it possible to “repair an injustice,” Senegalese President Macky Sall argued in July when he spoke via video conference as part of the Economic Meetings in the Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. “Africa combined is in eighth place in the world in terms of gross domestic product,” recalled Mr Sall,
Diplomatic victory for Modi
The expansion of the block is a notable diplomatic victory for Modi, who faces national election next year and has used hosting rights for this year’s forum to burnish his image as an international statesman.
By helping the African Union earn a seat at the G20 table, India has emerged as a champion of the global South. The AU joining the G20 comes as India and China are competing for greater influence.
China is the largest trading partner for the African continent and the fourth-biggest source of international investment. Bilateral trade between China and Africa stood at about $282 billion in 2022, whereas trade between India and Africa stood at nearly $98 billion in 2022-23 according to government data from Beijing and New Delhi, respectively.
