NEW DELHI: The G20 Summit will be historic this time as by the end of it will be called the G21 with the African Union (AU) becoming a new member.
India has proposed the inclusion of the African Union in the G20.
“India backs inclusion of the African Union as a full member of the Group of 20 largest economies as no plan for the future of the planet can be successful without the representation and recognition of all voices,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.
AU has 55 countries under its umbrella. However, there are some member countries that feel that their inclusion in G20 will have little or no impact on their lives.
“Africa is a large continent and the challenges, economy and communities are very diverse. In that context, we feel that this inclusion in the G20 would not translate into anything for us in the literal sense. The Voice of the Global South must be heard but the inclusion in G20 would not help in addressing the concerns. We are grateful for India to consider including us though,” said a representative of an African country.
Sudan is at present caught in a military conflict that has displaced 4.8 million people. In Rwanda, political space remains closed as over a dozen political opposition members are in prison. Besides, Morocco and Algeria are embroiled in a territorial dispute over Western Sahara.
“AU is not a politically cohesive unit. There are issues that countries are facing on their own and with each other. Besides, there are eight regional economic committees (REC) in AU which have developed individually and have differing roles and structures,” a source added.
• Arab Maghreb Union (UMA)
• Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
• Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD)
• East African Community (EAC)
• Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
• Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
• Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)2
• Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Senegal hosts the current presidency of AU and it was in this Presidency that a desire to join the G20 was expressed.
“It was in February 2023 during the AU Summit that a formal decision was adopted to be part of the G20 after considering a report by Macky Sall, President of Senegal and the then AU chairperson,” the source added.
It is learnt that Macky Sall, the President of Senegal will be in Delhi this week to attend the G20 Summit.
Meanwhile, there is another issue that is bothering some African nations – which is the inclusion of two countries in the AU which is not recognised by the UN.
“We have reservations against Somaliland and Sahraoui Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) which are part of AU but not recognised by the UN. In fact, SADR is not recognised by India too so these two countries should not be a part of the AU when it becomes a member of G20,” said a member of an African nation.
Meanwhile, despite the African nations being diverse, and having differences, the AU becoming a member of G20 and converting it into G21 is set to happen on September 9, 2023.
