Being held this weekend in New Delhi, India, Africa has officially received an AU seat at the G20, reports Al Jazeera. Although it was a discussion point on the agenda, insiders say it was all but guaranteed. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Bola Tinumbu from Nigeria are in attendance for the African Union (AU).
Now that an AU seat at the G20 is confirmed, this is in addition to South Africa’s existing seat. South is currently the only African country that’s part of the G20. According to Bloomberg, the AU seat at the G20 was a foregone conclusion. Several members had said they would support the African Union joining.
Finally, an AU seat at the G20 table made official. Picture: Reuters.
The G20 is currently comprised of 19 countries and the European Union (EU) to make up the quota of 20. Now that the African Union has been added, the organisation will need to find a new suffix.
Admission of the AU to the G20 is a big step forward for empowering the continent, says Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki from Open Society-Africa. “An AU Seat at the G20 will give voice and urgency in the multilateral system of the G20 and admitting Africa collectively to the table is a big step forward in amplify the cause of the continent.”
RUSSIAN AND CHINESE TENSIONS WITH US
AU seat at the G20
Tensions are anticipated at the 2023 G20 Summit being held in New Delhi, India, between Russia, China and the US. Picture: Reuters/X.
An AU seat at the G20 table is important because 80% of the world’s economic output is made up of G20 countries. And the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, had made it clear during the recent BRICS Summit that he wanted African admission.
Besides the great news about Africa. Russia says it won’t attend this weekend’s G20 in person and China’s President Xi Jinping is also expected to miss it. They are strong geopolitical rivals to the United States, and there’s an expected stand-off over various disagreements between the three superpowers.