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- The European Union says it supports the African Union's reinforced presence in international forums.
- Narendra Modi, India's prime minister and chairperson of the G20, adds Africa should be part of decision-making that affects the Global South mostly.
- South Africa is the only African country at the G20.
Most major world powers, in principle, has agreed to support Africa's bid to join the G20, a forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU).
The latest to show support was the EU on Friday.
A statement issued at one of the EU Council body of advisors meetings, underway until 16 July, reads "in line with commitments on multilateralism made at the EU-AU Summit … the European Council supports the African Union's [AU] reinforced presence in international forums, notably in the G20".
The call comes a few weeks after African heads of state travelled to Ukraine and Russia to encourage an end to the war.
The US also supported the move to include the AU in the G20 during the US-Africa Leaders Summit in December last year.
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"Africa belongs to the table in every room - in every room - where global challenges are being discussed and in every institution where discussions are taking place," US President Joe Biden said.
"It's been a long time in coming, but it's going to come."
This year, the G20 is chaired by India.
Last week, Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, also called for Africa to be included in decision-making that affects the Global South.
Modi will in September host the G20 Summit and will push for Africa's admission.
South Africa is the only African country at the G20.
The AU as a bloc was first invited to attend the G20 Summit in 2010 in Seoul, South Korea.
Thereafter, the Compact with Africa was launched when Germany led the G20 to promote private investment in Africa.
The G20 also engages African leaders by inviting representatives from the New Partnership for Africa's Development and the AU chairperson.
The call to have Africa become a full member is supported by emerging geopolitical scenarios such as the war in Ukraine, which has an impact on the continent's food security.
Another argument brought forward for the introduction of the AU as a full member is the continent's expanding importance in economic governance.
Africa's GDP was expected to be R58 trillion (US$3.1 trillion) in 2023, with a population of 1.3 billion people.
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Furthermore, the continent is likely to enjoy strong economic growth, with the World Bank estimating GDP growth of 3.6% in 2023 and 3.9% in 2024, with 91% of African economies estimated to expand faster than the world forecast of 1.7% in 2023.
With the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement which integrates Africa's 55 economies into a single market, the AU could represent the world's eighth-largest economic bloc.
According to the Institute for Security Studies , "becoming a G20 member would be a political, cultural, and technical challenge for an organisation that has been relatively inward-looking".
"The AU would need to put in place working methods that allow or force its members to acknowledge the positions they agree on at summits."The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
