G20 will host African Union

As of 8:39 a.m | Reading time: 2 minutes

DAccording to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the group of the most important industrialized and emerging countries (G20) will be expanded to include the African Union (AU). During his opening speech at the start of the summit in New Delhi, Modi invited the Union, represented by its chairman Azali Assoumani, to take a seat at the table of G-20 heads of state and government as a permanent member. Modi himself proposed this step in June.

“We welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and firmly believe that the admission of the African Union will contribute significantly to addressing the global challenges of our time,” says the draft summit declaration, which was obtained by the Reuters news agency is present. This gives the AU, which brings together 55 member states of the continent, the same status as the European Union. The EU is currently the only regional organization with full membership. So far, the AU is only an “invited international organization”. The federal government supported the expansion of the G20 to include the AU, as did countries such as Brazil, South Africa and Canada.

Shortly before, the G-20 summit of leading industrialized and emerging countries had begun in the capital New Delhi. Prime Minister Modi had, among others, US President Joe Biden and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) at the two-day consultations.

Scholz continued to wear an eye patch after his jogging accident. He landed in the government Airbus “Konrad Adenauer” at around 8:00 a.m. local time. The Chancellor is accompanied by Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP).

Lavrov there for Putin

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came to represent Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he briefly stumbled during the greeting. China’s head of state Xi Jinping is represented by Prime Minister Li Qiang.

also read

Due to a dispute over a clear condemnation of the Russian war of aggression, it was unclear whether the states would be able to agree on a joint final declaration as usual. The West faces an alliance between China and Russia in the negotiations.

At the summit under the motto “One Earth, one Family, one Future” host Modi wants to strengthen the role of the global south. Other topics include climate protection and reform of the World Bank.

The G-20 round group includes the European Union and 19 of the world’s strongest economies.