- By Radha Basnet
- Fri, 08 Sep 2023 12:03 PM (IST)
- Source:PTI
G20 Summit 2023: The European Union on Friday said it is looking forward to welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 after a group of 20, comprising the world's richest and most powerful countries, agreed to grant membership to the African Union on Thursday.
"The European Union is looking forward to welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20," President of the European Council Charles Michel said this a day ahead of the G2O summit. "The European Union supports the African Union's entry into G20," he said, as quoted by the news agency PTI.
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In June this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote the G-20 leaders, pitching for the organisation to grant the African Union full membership during its summit in New Delhi.
The suggestion was formally incorporated into the summit communique a few weeks later, during the third G-20 Sherpas conference, which was held in Hampi, Karnataka in July. The final decision will be taken at the G-20 summit.
The African Union (AU) is an influential organisation comprising 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent.
The G20, or Group of 20, is an intergovernmental organisation that brings the largest industrialised and developing economies of the globe together. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, US, India and the European Union (EU) are all members of the G20. India currently holds the rotating presidency of the multinational group which was handed over to the country on December 1, 2022.
Currently, the G20 comprises 19 countries and the European Union. The members of G20 represent around 85 per cent of global GDP, more than 75 per cent of global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.
(With Inputs From Agencies)