The African Union, the main regional organization representing the continent, has been offered a spot in the G-20.
Currently, the European Union is the only multinational organization that has a spot on the council. With the African Council represented, the continent’s 1 billion inhabitants now have a voice. NPR reports:
The African Union has been granted permanent member status in the Group of 20 top world economies, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday, adding momentum to his drive to give a greater voice to the Global South as host of this year’s annual summit.
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.
Africa is one of the most populous continents in the world, but also one of the poorest. It remains the area with the most potential of economic growth and political influence. CNBC continues:
The African Union became the second regional grouping to be admitted to the Group of 20 leading industrialized and developing nations as a full permanent member, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Saturday at the start of the two-day G20 leaders’ summit in Delhi.
The widely-anticipated move underscores India’s wide-ranging agenda to elevate the global multilateral forum’s focus on the Global South in its presidency of the G20 this year. The 55-member bloc of African nations joins the European Union as only the second regional organization to become a permanent member of the G20.
However, the African Union is itself in a crisis. With the growth of military coups in the region, it has already suspended six members. Faced with corrupt democracies, legacies of decolonization in many cases, many Africans feel torn between supporting military coups, knowing that it could lead to further dictatorships.
READ NEXT: Africa Suffers Another Major Shock
