The G20 comprises the world’s richest and most powerful countries of the world. The African Union was recently made a permanent member of the G20. PM Modi invited Azali Assoumani, the head of the African Union to take a seat as a permanent member of the G20.
African Union at G20 Summit
The African Union has the same status as the European Union which makes it a continental body of 55 member states. The below tweet shows PM Modi’s words at the G20 Summit.
Honoured to welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 Family. This will strengthen the G20 and also strengthen the voice of the Global South. pic.twitter.com/fQQvNEA17o
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 9, 2023
“Honoured to welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 Family. This will strengthen the G20 and also strengthen the voice of the Global South.
This move was proposed by PM Modi in June when they met each other. PM Modi’s centerpiece of this year was to give the Global South a voice. Adding, the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 is a great step in the right direction.
Further, he also said that all leaders must find concrete solutions to the challenges. These challenges are coming from ups and downs in the global economy. Read more here.
Discussion held during G20 Summit
The G20 Summit included discussion on a wide range of topics ranging from development to the safety of a nation. The following topics were discussed:
- International Debt Architecture Reformation
- Cryptocurrency Regulations
- Impact of Geopolitics on Food
- Impact of Geopolitics on Energy Security
- Multilateral institutions to provide more loans to developing nations.
75 other paragraphs indicated agreement on issues such as reforms and cryptocurrencies. However, the geopolitical situation was left blank in order to reflect the deep division. This division is due to the Ukraine war.
G20 Leaders Group
The G20 earlier comprised 19 countries plus the European Union. It represents 75% of the global trade and 2/3rds of the world population. The increasing number of global rifts along with the absence of key players are threatening to reach consensus over several issues.
Thus, flooded with a lot of other issues on the table, Human Rights Watch asked the G20 leaders to not let the international disunity distract them during the summit.