African Union renews call for permanent seat in G20
World leaders met on the Indonesian island of Bali in mid-November for a scheduled G20 summit to review economic performance, examine challenges and devise solutions for emerging challenges.
The participating leaders, and also representing African countries, called for a wider representation of Africa in the G20 Group.
South African Republic President Cyril Ramaphosa, the only African country of the G20, called for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the Group of 20 leading economies.
Senegalese President Macky Sall, the current Chairperson of the African Union, has previously called for an overhaul of international governance and urged more excellent African representation in international bodies such as the UN Security Council and the G20. In October for instance, Sall said multilateralism had to “serve the interests of all” or risk the “loss of legitimacy and authority.”
French President Emmanuel Macron told world leaders gathering that Paris “supports the full and complete integration of the African Union into the G20” comparatively in the same way the European Union is a member.
“If we want to express real solidarity with the South, we must accept that the African Union, like the European Union, comes to the table,” Macron declared during a press conference.
The African Union views its membership as an opportunity to boost the image of the continent and the organization. It means, in future, the African Union as a permanent member, among all the privileges, will hold the G20 Presidency and consequently the G20 gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.