NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that the African Union has been granted permanent member status in the Group of 20 top world economies. The announcement by PM Modi adds momentum to his drive to give a greater voice to the Global South as host of this year’s annual Summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the delegates from behind a nameplate that listed his country not as India but as “Bharat,” an ancient Sanskrit name championed by his Hindu nationalist supporters. The announcement was made by PM Narendra Modi while giving his opening remarks at the G20 Summit, which began at the Bharat Mandapam in the national capital. The G20 Summit is happening at a time when there are growing global rifts and the absence of key players threatened to reach consensus on the thorniest issues elusive.
However, there has been widespread support, for adding the AU to the G20, making it the second regional bloc to become a permanent member after the European Union (EU). Prime Minister Narendra Modi rapped his gavel three times before announcing the move to applause in the room. He shook hands with the current AU chair, Comoros President Azali Assoumani, and embraced him warmly before inviting him to sit at the table.
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Advancing a more inclusive G20 that echoes the aspirations of the Global South!
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 9, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
PM @narendramodi extends a heartfelt welcome to President @_AfricanUnion and the President of Comoros Azali Assoumani.
Thrilled to have the African Union as a permanent member. A milestone for the… pic.twitter.com/SqwziRCwiT
">Advancing a more inclusive G20 that echoes the aspirations of the Global South!
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 9, 2023
PM @narendramodi extends a heartfelt welcome to President @_AfricanUnion and the President of Comoros Azali Assoumani.
Thrilled to have the African Union as a permanent member. A milestone for the… pic.twitter.com/SqwziRCwiTAdvancing a more inclusive G20 that echoes the aspirations of the Global South!
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 9, 2023
PM @narendramodi extends a heartfelt welcome to President @_AfricanUnion and the President of Comoros Azali Assoumani.
Thrilled to have the African Union as a permanent member. A milestone for the… pic.twitter.com/SqwziRCwiT
“I invite the representative of the African Union (AU) to take his place as a permanent member of the G20,” Modi said.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote, For a G20, which is more inclusive and more vocal for Global South! PM @narendramodi warmly invites President @_AfricanUnion & Comoros Azali Assoumani to join other G20 leaders as African Union becomes a permanent member of the G20. A key outcome of #G20India. (sic)."
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For a G20, which is more inclusive and more vocal for Global South!
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 9, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
PM @narendramodi warmly invites President @_AfricanUnion & Comoros Azali Assoumani to join other G20 leaders as African Union becomes a permanent member of the G20.
A key outcome of #G20India. pic.twitter.com/7LwAvgMag9
">For a G20, which is more inclusive and more vocal for Global South!
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 9, 2023
PM @narendramodi warmly invites President @_AfricanUnion & Comoros Azali Assoumani to join other G20 leaders as African Union becomes a permanent member of the G20.
A key outcome of #G20India. pic.twitter.com/7LwAvgMag9For a G20, which is more inclusive and more vocal for Global South!
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 9, 2023
PM @narendramodi warmly invites President @_AfricanUnion & Comoros Azali Assoumani to join other G20 leaders as African Union becomes a permanent member of the G20.
A key outcome of #G20India. pic.twitter.com/7LwAvgMag9
The Prime Minister's Office in a separate post on X, wrote, "Advancing a more inclusive G20 that echoes the aspirations of the Global South! PM @narendramodi extends a heartfelt welcome to President @_AfricanUnion and the President of Comoros Azali Assoumani. Thrilled to have the African Union as a permanent member. A milestone for the G20 family indeed."
PM Narendra Modi has made giving voice to the Global South a centrepiece of this year’s Summit, and adding the AU at the outset was a strong step in that direction.
With much of the world’s focus on the Russian war against Ukraine, India has been working to try and direct more attention to addressing the needs of the developing world at the summit — though it is impossible to decouple many issues, such as food and energy security, from the European conflict.
The importance of AU's inclusion in G20:
- With full G20 membership, the AU can represent a continent that's home to the world's largest free trade area. The continent is also enormously rich in the resources the world needs to combat climate change. The African continent has 60 per cent of the world's renewable energy assets and over 30 per cent of the minerals key to renewable and low-carbon technologies.
- Congo alone has almost half of the world's cobalt, a metal essential for lithium-ion batteries, according to a United Nations report on Africa's economic development released last month.
- African leaders are tired of watching outsiders take the continent's resources for processing and profits elsewhere and want more industrial development closer to home to benefit their economies.
- Take Africa's natural assets into account and the continent is immensely wealthy, Kenyan President William Ruto said at the first Africa Climate Summit.
- African leaders have shown their willingness to take such collective action. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they united in loudly criticizing the hoarding of vaccines by rich countries and teamed up to pursue bulk purchases of supplies for the continent.
- Now, as a high-profile G20 member, Africa's demands will be harder to ignore. (with AP inputs)
