Expansion of G20, Ukraine war statement on India priority list
NEW DELHI : India aims to achieve the twin objectives of adding the African Union as a member of G20 and resolving disagreements about a joint statement related to the war in Ukraine at the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September. India, which has centred its G20 presidency around the concerns of the Global South, will view the inclusion of the African Union as a significant achievement, in line with its aspiration to represent the interests of low-income, developing nations. The inclusion of the African Union has also received the support of the European Union (EU), France and the US.
Media reports indicated that G20 has agreed to grant membership to the African Union, which counts 55 countries as members. The organization was founded in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation for African Unity. The organization’s stated goal is to achieve greater unity and solidarity between African countries and promote common African positions on issues of interest, according to the grouping’s website.
“The current focus on the Global South emanates from the conviction that these are countries deserving of special care. But equally, these are today, societies under exceptional stress which, if left unaddressed, would become a serious drag on the world economy," India’s foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, said in August.
“When India assumed the G20 presidency last December, we were acutely conscious that most of the Global South will not be at the table when we meet. This mattered very much because, as I have underlined, the really urgent problems are those faced by them. To discuss their concerns without providing a fair hearing appeared extremely unfair," he said.
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