African Union to join G20: How PM Modi’s big push is making it happen

The G20, made up of the world’s richest and most powerful nations, is set to grant membership to the African Union. The grouping, which comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU),  represents around 85 per cent of global GDP, over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population. An African Union official, speaking to Reuters, confirmed that the group was being made a permanent member. The official did not wish to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the subject. But what is the African Union? And did you know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for the G20 to become the G21? Let’s take a closer look: What is the African Union? The African Union (AU) is a continental body comprising 55 member states. It is considered the top-most grouping that represents the voice of its member states.

It has been working towards ensuring the progress and economic growth of the African nations.

It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (1963-1999). According to its website, it envisions “an Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.” Some of its stated aims are to:

• Achieve greater unity and solidarity between African countries and their people
• Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States
• Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent
• Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples
• Encourage international cooperation
• Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent

  According to News9, the AU was constructed on the lines of the European Union. Like the EU, it has its own bank, a court of justice and even a parliament. However, unlike the EU, it also has its own force. These troops, known as the African Standby Force, are meant to keep the peace.

Representing 1.3 billion people, it has a combined GDP of around $3 trillion.

The African Union is headquartered in Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa. Making the AU a G20 member would give it the same status as the European Union – the only regional bloc with a full membership – and would be a step up from its current designation of “invited international organisation”. The G20 this year has invited nine non-member “guest” nations including Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain and Nigeria as well as international organisations such as the United Nations, World Health Organization, the World Bank and the IMF. PM Modi’s big push Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly pushed to make African nations an important part of India’s G20 presidency On Thursday, in an article published across Indian and international newspapers on Thursday, the prime minister wrote, “Our presidency has not only seen the largest-ever participation from African countries but has also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20”. Modi in a 3 September interview with PTI came out strongly in favour of the African Union gaining full membership of the G20. [caption id=“attachment_12831782” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The African Union logo. Image courtesy: https://au.int/en[/caption] “Our affinity to Africa is natural. We have had millennia-old cultural and commerce ties with Africa. We have a shared history of movements against colonialism. As a youthful and aspirational nation ourselves, we also relate to the people of Africa and their aspirations. In the last few years, this relationship has got even stronger,” Modi said. Modi added that Africa is a ‘top priority’ within the G20 and pointed out that holding the Voice of the Global South summit, which had enthusiastic participation from Africa, was one of the first things India did during its presidency. “We believe that no plan for the future of the planet can be successful without the representation and recognition of all voices. There is a need to come out of a purely utilitarian worldview and embrace a  Sarva Jana Hitaaya, Sarva Jana Sukhaaya’ model,” Modi added. This interview came months after Modi in June penned a letter to the G20 leaders  suggesting the African Union be given full, permanent membership of the diplomatic group at the G20 Summit in India.

As per Indian Express, the idea originated at the ‘Voice of the Global South’ summit mentioned above by Modi.

This summit, held in January, saw most of the 54 countries on the African continent take part. Sources told Hindustan Times the prime minister penned the letter after a request from the African Union. The move is meant to give Africa’s voice more prominence “on the international stage and in shaping the future of our shared world”. A piece in ABP News argued that the mineral resource-rich continent needs help to revive its economy. “The G20 can play a stellar role in strengthening the structure of world economy and governance so as to empower its citizens to not get trapped by exploitative lending policies of powerful authoritarian regimes, in the name of promoting infrastructure growth,” the piece argued. “If the developed countries are interested in enhancing the economic stability and strength of Africa, most of which remained colonised in the better part of the 19th and 20th centuries, the region must have to become a lucrative market for the powerful economies of the world to invest. Africa can become an attractive market for the developed world only when their purchasing power can vastly improve. It would thus be in the interest of developed economies for Africa to emerge economically stronger.” A source told Reuters Modi’s proposal to grant the African Union full membership in the G20 demonstrates India’s commitment to strengthening Africa’s representation and partnership in shaping global affairs. “This will be a right step towards a just, fair, more inclusive and representative global architecture and governance,” the source said of the African Union proposal. “(The) prime minister is a strong believer in having a greater Voice of the Global South countries on international platforms, particularly of African countries.” What do experts say? A piece in News9 pointed out that just one of the nations belonging to the AU – South Africa – is in the G20 “This means that in the G20, the largest gathering of the most consequential economies in the world, nations with a much smaller population and even GDP compared to the African Union get to make decisions that unilaterally affect the lives of over 1.3 billion people,” the piece stated. The piece contended that the African Union as part of the G20 would be “better positioned to represent the unique challenges and positions of the African continent at the G20 on issues such as climate financing and rising sovereign debt in the developing world.”

The article also noted that properly representing the ‘vast and varied continent’ of Africa at the G20 would remain a challenge.

“There is also concern over the status of Somaliland and Sahraoui Arab Democratic Republic, two African Union members who are not recognised formally as being countries by the United Nations. The Wire quoted AU chief and Senegal president Macky Sall as writing that the African Union’s absence could harm the G20. “The most pressing issues — climate change, pandemics, security, and debt — are ones that both affect Africa and on which Africa is in a position to contribute to solutions. Such a gap in African representation can weaken the G-20’s credibility, traction, and representativeness,” he wrote. To be or not to be? A top government official from South Africa, which is a G20 member, said that the language for the induction of AU into the G20 bloc was still being discussed but it could be firmed up by Friday. The South African official, who did not want to be named before the decision was made public, however said that there was still a possibility that someone might veto the resolution. It was not immediately clear if the decision would be announced at the annual G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi over the weekend. Two Indian sources told Reuters that membership for AU was expected to be formalised only next year, when Brazil takes over the presidency of G20 from India. There were no objections against the move from any of the members, one of the Indian sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing government rules.

Some other countries have also come out in favour of the AU joining the G20.

China on Thursday expressed its support, claiming it is the “first country to explicitly support” the inclusion. [caption id=“attachment_13091552” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Chinese president Xi Jinping. Reuters[/caption] “China is the first country to explicitly voice support for the AU’s accession to G20,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing. “At the recent China-Africa leaders dialogue, President Xi Jinping once again stressed that China actively supports the full membership of AU in the G20,” said. Indonesia previously called for the AU to have representation, while France’s Emmanuel Macron was quoted as saying that his nation “supports the full and complete integration of the African Union into the G20”. South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa also pushed the matter during the Bali summit’s working session, while China has repeatedly spelled out its support for the move. In December 2022, US president Joe Biden also made a similar call. “And today I’m also calling for the African Union to join the G20 as a permanent member of the G20….it’s been a long time in coming, but it’s going to come,” Biden said. That same month, Japan also threw its weight behind the idea after its Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met Senegal’s president. With inputs from agencies