The African Union has formally joined the Group of 20 (G20) top global economies, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday.
He made the announcement during his opening speech at the G20 Summit holding in New Delhi, India.
He said, “I invite the representative of the African Union to take his place as a permanent member of the G20,” Modi announced, before banging his gavel three times to applause in the room.
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The addition of the AU comes at a time when there are growing global rifts.
There was widespread support, however, for adding the AU to the G20, making it the second regional bloc to become a permanent member after the European Union.
The G20 is an elite group of the world’s most powerful and significant economies.
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They represent 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.
Member countries are the US, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.
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President Bola Tinubu is also attending the summit as one of the nine invited guests.
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