African Union chairman arrives for summit as G20 set to admit 55-nation-bloc to turn into 'G21'

President of Comoros, Azali Assoumani, has arrived in New Delhi to take part in the 18^th summit of the G20 – now likely to be rechristened as the ‘G21’ with the inclusion of the African Union (AU) currently headed by him.

Assoumani will take part in the G20 summit as the chairman of the African Union. The summit in New Delhi will see the commencement of the process of admitting the African Union as the newest member of the G20. The process is expected to be completed by the time the next summit is hosted by Brazil in 2024 and the premier forum for international economic cooperation may then turn into G21.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal for admission of the African Union into the G20 has received “a very positive response”, Amitabh Kant, India’s Sherpa for the 18^th summit of the intergovernmental forum, told journalists on Friday. He added that the proposal and the responses to it would now come before the leaders during the summit and they would take a decision.

Ever since Modi took over the presidency of the G20 from Indonesian President Joko Widodo last year, India projected itself as the voice of the Global South in the organisation of the major world economies, highlighting the concerns of the developing economies. The Prime Minister had a few months back written to his counterparts within the bloc, suggesting that the African Union’s request for full membership of the G20 should be accepted at the summit in New Delhi itself.

India’s move to get the African Union a berth in the G20 during its presidency has come amid China’s bid to expand its influence in the continent.

The Group of Twenty or G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. It was an informal forum of finance ministers and central bank governors of the most important industrialised and developing economies. It was upgraded to the level of the heads of states or governments in the wake of the global economic and financial crisis of 2007. It comprises 19 nations and the European Union.

If the African Union, a bloc of 55 nations, is admitted into the G20, it will be the second group of nations to be its member after the EU.

A source in New Delhi said that the G20 Sherpas, who had a final meeting from Monday to Wednesday, had already agreed on the inclusion of the African Union and the leaders would now approve it.

The process of the African Union’s admission into the G20, however, will take months and it will be able to get the status of a full member only by the time Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva would host the 19^th summit of the forum.