The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on Saturday morning commenced the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi by officially welcoming the African Union (AU) into the group as a permanent member.
India’s G20 presidency is “a symbol of inclusion,” both within and outside India, Modi said to inaugurate the opening session of the two-day gathering. “With this sentiment of inclusiveness, Bharat had proposed that the African Union should be given permanent membership in the G20,” he said, using India’s Hindi name. “I’m confident that we all [in the grouping] have consensus on this … and [thus] I invite the head of the African Union to take his seat.”
The addition of the 55-member African grouping is a milestone as India advocates greater global participation by countries of the “Global South.”
An economist from Saudi Arabia who is part of the official delegation of the G20 member country, Ihsan Buhulaiga, ‘This is a very positive news at the outset of this important summit,’ told Nikkei Asia when asked about the AU’s inclusion. “It makes .. sense for a number of reasons — now there will be parity as the current composition of the G20 has 19 countries and the European Union.’
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Secondly, he said, a lot of challenges that are discussed at the G20 have strong relevance to Africa — pointing to poverty, public debt, health issues, climate change and funds to help African nations lower emissions as discussed at COP27 conference in Egypt. “It makes certain sense for them to sit on the table, plus the African Union is a very active organization.”
Buhulaiga praised Modi’s efforts to promote Global South interests.
Modi “is really paying a lot of attention to [the Global South] and making sure that India is taking its right place as a rising power,” he said. “If you look at the Indian population, and diversity, [you see that] it is part of the Indian nature to be inclusive,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Modi is taking “concrete steps” for the cause of developing nations.
“Even though we are in the [early] hours of the G20 summit, it is clear now that it is going to be a smashing success,” he said.
Modi’s opening remarks also touched on broader themes.