The African Union officially took its place as a new member of the G20 on Saturday, September 9, at the invitation of the host of the summit in New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
The enlargement of the African Union to the “G21” is a notable diplomatic victory for Mr. Modi, who is expected to seek a new term in national elections next year, restoring the image of the Indian head of state at stranger.
“India has proposed granting permanent G20 membership to the African Union. I believe we have everyone’s agreement on this,” Mr. Modi said in his opening speech to the summit.
“Crisis of confidence”
Before his speech, Mr. Modi gave a warm hug to Azali Assoumani, President of the Comoros, head of the African Union. Mr. Assoumani then took his place among the leaders of the group at the invitation of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
The members of the G20, on the other hand, are faced with deep divisions, particularly over the war in Ukraine. “The world is experiencing a huge crisis of confidence,” Mr Modi said. “The war compounded this trust deficit. If we manage to overcome the Covid, we can also overcome this crisis of mutual trust. »
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told the G20 summit that the world was facing an “unprecedented climate emergency”, citing flooding in his country as an example.
“Droughts, floods, storms and fires are increasingly frequent and are undermining food and energy security,” added Lula, whose country will host the COP30 climate summit in 2025.
G20 leaders are meeting in New Delhi during what is likely to be the hottest year on record, but hopes are slim that the divided group will agree on ambitious actions to address the climate crisis.
Three key issues are on the table in New Delhi: tripling global renewable energy capacity, phasing out the use of fossil fuels like coal, but also financing the green transition in developing countries. development.
