NEW DELHI: The G20 group of countries has agreed to grant permanent membership to the African Union (AU). The move would give the AU, a continental body of 55 member countries, the same status as the European Union (EU), from its current designation of “invited international organization.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the leaders of the G20 countries in June, proposing the AU will be given full, permanent membership of the group at the upcoming summit in the Indian capital New Delhi.
The grouping currently comprises nineteen countries and the European Union.
The G20 this year has also invited 9 non-member nations, including Singapore, Spain, Bangladesh, and Nigeria, besides international organisations such as the United Nations (UN), World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank (WB) and the IMF to the weekend summit in New Delhi.
The G20 leaders are likely to announce the decision during the summit.
Countries welcome AU to G20
Countries like Brazil, Germany, and Canada have also expressed their support for AU membership to the G20.
The G20 or Group of twenty is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s big developed and developing economies. The members represent around 85 percent of global GDP, over 75 percent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
