Mixed views as African Union joins the G20 bloc

“With everyone’s approval, I request the African Union head to take his seat as a permanent G20 member,” Mr Modi said in his opening address, banging a ceremonial gavel.

The AU at full strength has 55 members, but six junta-ruled nations are currently suspended. Collectively, it has a GDP of $3 trillion and some 1.4 billion people.

Various African presidents reacted positively.

“As a continent, we look forward to further advancing our aspirations on the global stage using the G20 platform,” Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was at the summit, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The AU’s entry into the G20 will allow the continent to make “its effective contribution” in helping the world meet global challenges, AU Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat said.

“I welcome the African Union’s entry into the G20 as a full member. This membership, for which we have long been advocating, will provide a propitious framework for amplifying advocacy in favour of the continent and its effective contribution to meeting global challenges,” he wrote on X.

Kenyan President William Ruto said the move will “give African interests and perspectives voice and visibility in this important body.”

“With Africa poised to grow in the coming years, a seat will allow it to shape the decisions of the G20 to ensure the continent’s interests are advanced,” he said.

“The outcome of the just concluded Africa Climate Summit, including fundamental reforms of international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, is one thing that the AU will advance,” he added.

Cautious concerns

Prof Abdallah Safari, an independent analyst who has expertise in foreign affairs and international relations, wondered whether Africa’s G20 entry does not go against the principle of non-alignment championed by African countries founding fathers such as Kwame Nkrumah.

“I don’t see if there was a reason to join the group now,” said Prof Safari.

“Being one of the richest continents, we should have stood alone and planned to strengthen ourselves rather than joining a ship that is on the verge of sinking considering the current state of global geopolitics,” he added.

He noted that the deteriorating security situation among African nations, as expressed by recent coups, should have been enough to make African leaders focus on finding peace on this continent before joining such groups.

An expert in diplomacy, Prof Kitojo Wetengere, said Africa was not united enough to be able to speak at the G20 in one voice.

“If it were a single African nation joining, it would be better, but joining as a continent is dangerous because so far we have nothing to offer on the table,” he said, adding that there is a possibility for Africa to be exploited.

“We need great care in these decisions,” he added.

Ms Catherine Mujuni, an international relations expert, said Africa has been left behind on important issues, especially those decided by the G20. Increased polarity and growing tensions between nuclear powers are another issue that could see Africa being pulled and pushed in both directions.

“The AU joining the G20 is a milestone that also needs attention and great care to avoid being used in geopolitical power plays,” she said, adding that it would be fair to involve all Africans in voting on the proposal before entry.

“We are a rich continent; so many strategies are used to capture us, and therefore it requires a lot of attention,” she said. The G20 was conceived in the throes of the 2008 financial crisis as a way to manage the global economy, but finding consensus among members has been increasingly difficult in recent years.

Comoros president and current AU chairman Azali Assoumani said; “It’s a great day for me... but also for the whole of Africa, which has just joined the G20, with great emotion and pride”.

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was “delighted” by the move. Issues around climate change “can only be addressed collectively and with a great deal of solidarity” he added, and “access to adequate and predictable financial resources from a variety of public and private sources is critical if we are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.

“As a continent, we look forward to further advancing our aspirations on the global stage using the G20 platform,” Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is at the summit, posted on X.

Senegal’s President Macky Sall also welcomed the African Union’s inclusion in the G20, for which he had long advocated. “I warmly thank all the members of the G20 for their support for this initiative, which I championed during my term as the head of the African Union”, said Sall, who assumed the AU presidency in 2022 until the beginning of 2023.

This advocacy “reflects his vision of fairer and more inclusive global political, economic, and financial governance,” Senegal’s foreign ministry said in a statement.