G20 agrees to grant permanent membership to African Union: Report
G20 Summit, the member nations of the group have agreed to grant permanent membership to the African Union, a continental body of 55 member states, Bloomberg agency news reported. With this, the African Union has earned the same status as the European Union. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written a letter to the G20 nations in which he proposed that the African Union be given full, permanent membership of the bloc at the upcoming summit in New Delhi.
Countries like Germany, Brazil, and Canada have also expressed their support for African Union membership to the G20. Read all the LIVE updates on G20 here At present, the G20 group comprises 19 countries and the European Union. Besides, the G20 this year has also invited nine non-member countries, including Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain, and Nigeria, and international organisations such as the United Nations, World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the IMF on the 9 and 10 September Summit.
The inclusion of African Unions into G20 is expected to be announced during the weekends. Mint could not independently confirm the news. Also read: Elevating consumer protection on G20 agenda for a balanced future The world's 20 major countries formed an economic grouping after the Asian financial crisis in 1999 with the understanding that such crises could no longer be contained within a nation's borders and required better international economic cooperation.
Read more on livemint.com
