With the unanimous consent of all participants and at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is hosting the summit, the African Union officially admitted as a member of the G20 on Saturday (September 9, 2023).
Modi has exploited the hosting rights for this year’s forum to enhance his reputation as an international statesman as he prepares for national elections next year. The enlargement of the block is a significant diplomatic success for Modi.
This invitation comes at a time when India, a member of the BRICS, has been outspoken about its key engagement of multi-alignment, retaining strategic autonomy, and not being boxed in any camp or coalition, while creating a multipolar world.
Africa had only been tangentially represented in the G20, which was made up of 19 countries plus the EU, thanks to South Africa’s seat and the AU’s permanent guestship.
Since the formation of the group in 1999, this admission represents the first change.
Azali Assoumani, the president of the Comoros and the chair of the African Union, was hugged by Modi prior to his opening remarks.
“India put a proposal to give permanent membership of G20 to the African Union. I believe that with we have everyone’s agreement on this,” Modi said in his opening address to the summit.
“With everyone’s approval, I request the African Union head to take his seat as a permanent G20 member,” he added, banging a ceremonial gavel.
Then, at the invitation of S. Jaishankar, India’s minister of international affairs, Assoumani sat down with other world leaders.
The African Union (AU), which was formally established in 2002, is an alliance of 55 African countries that together account for 10% of the global economy and roughly 1.4 billion people.
The United States, Saudi Arabia, represented by Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Slimane, the United Arab Emirates, the EU, and other G20 partners are expected to sign an agreement in principle at the G20 for a significant sea and rail transport project crossing the Middle East to connect India to Europe, according to American and European sources.
This initiative is probably a response to China’s New Silk Roads, whose leader Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are not present in New Delhi.
The revelation also comes as US President Joe Biden is attempting to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia and Israel in addition to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. Israel may eventually join the project.
The G20 nations will probably find it even more challenging to agree on geopolitical concerns, such as how to view Russia or the environment. These are serious problems that have far-reaching effects for developing nations, which are at the forefront of both food shortages caused by the conflict in Ukraine, which is driving down grain prices, and extreme weather events linked to climate change.
“Developing economies are the first to be affected by climate change, even though they are the least responsible for this crisis”, said South African President Ramaphosa.
Climate emergency
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, for his part, reminded the G20 of the “unprecedented climate emergency” that the world is currently experiencing as a result of a “lack of commitment to the environment,” using the floods in his nation as an illustration.
Amnesty International had previously issued a warning on Thursday, stating that the G20, which accounts for 85% of the world’s GDP and 80% of greenhouse gas emissions, will fail “potentially catastrophically” in the absence of firm promises on climate change in particular.
This is especially true in light of a report issued by the UN Climate Organization that served as a wake-up call, urging “much more to be done, now, on all fronts” to address the climate problem.
Participants at Africa’s first climate conference earlier this week in Nairobi urged the international community to invest in and reform the international financial system in order to help the region realize its potential in the battle against global warming.
