Why India wants permanent membership of African Union in G20

As the voice of the Global South, India is pushing for the permanent membership of the African Union in the G20 during the intergovernmental forum’s annual summit in New Delhi this month, writes ETV Bharat’s Aroonim Bhuyan.

New Delhi:With New Delhi set to host this year’s G20 Summit on September 9-10, India will pitch strongly for the inclusion of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member of the intergovernmental forum.

During India’s G20 Presidency this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized integrating the priorities of the African nations in the Group’s agenda. The G20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union. PM Modi has written to all the leaders of the member countries to make the 55-nation AU a permanent member of the Group. The prime minister had made the appeal three months before the Leaders’ Summit of the G20 in New Delhi.

“Right from the very beginning, India said that its G20 presidency will be a voice for the Global South,” Ruchita Beri, consultant at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis and an expert on Africa, told ETV Bharat. “Africa is the heart of the Global South. India wants to bring Africa to the forefront of the multilateral forum.”

India’s G20 presidency has the potential to give India’s Africa policy a further fillip, according to Gurjit Singh, former Indian ambassador to Ethiopia and the AU and currently the Chair of the CII Task Force on the Asia Africa Growth Corridor.

“A refurbished Africa policy will burnish the G20 presidency with India as the voice of the Global South (VOGS),” Singh writes in an article titled ‘It’s time for Africa’ for the Observer Research Foundation. “Since India is the voice of the Global South, speaking up for Africa, in particular, is important,” he states. “Africa suffered deeply from the consequences of the (COVID-19) pandemic and the Ukraine conflict.”

After assuming the G20 presidency, India held a virtual summit of the Voice of the Global South (VoGS) in January this year. Around 120 countries attended the Summit that was held with the theme ‘Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose’. Addressing the summit, PM Modi had said that the Global South has the largest stakes in the future.

“Three-fourths of humanity lives in our countries,” he said. “We should also have an equivalent voice. Hence, as the eight-decade-old model of global governance slowly changes, we should try to shape the emerging order.” Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi said that most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South “but they affect us more”.

“We have seen this in the impacts of COVID pandemic, climate change, terrorism and even the Ukraine conflict,” he said. “The search for solutions also does not factor in our role or our voice. India has always shared its developmental experience with our brothers of the Global South. Our development partnerships cover all geographies and diverse sectors. We supplied medicines and vaccines to over 100 countries during the pandemic. India has always stood for the greater role of developing countries in determining our common future.”

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Beri highlighted the fact that that India has always fought for a place for Africa in other multilateral forums as well like the UN Security Council, the World Trade Organisation and the Bretton Woods institutions.

“It is quite natural as India has historical relations with African nations,” she said. “India thought that it would be pertinent to push for the AU’s permanent membership in the G20 during this year’s Summit.”