Since the announcement of the G20 Summit in India, sources have claimed that the African Union (AU) will be the next member inaugurated into the international economic forum. A consensus was allegedly achieved, as the news was to be announced at the G20 Leaders’ Summit held in New Delhi, India.

On September 9, 2023, the AU officially became a member of the G20 (a group of 20 developing economies).

The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced that India had proposed the inclusion of AU’s membership in the G20, and he believed all the present leaders agreed with such a proposal.

The prime minister welcomed the AU chairperson, Azali Assoumani, to have his seat as a full and newest member of the G20.

What is The G20?

Formed in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and 1998, the G20 acted as an informal forum comprising finance ministers and central bank chiefs of prosperous and booming economies. Since its creation, the G20 has expanded to having Presidents and prime Ministers as members of its organisation.

The members of the G20 (Group of Twenty) are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and now, the African Union.

The first G20 Summit was held in 2008 in Washington DC, United States, which built a foundation for one of the most explicable reforms in global finance history. After the 2009 G20 summit in London, UK, it has been held worldwide in cities of its member countries.

Is G20 replacing the G7?

With its first meeting in 1976, the G7 countries represented 50% of the global GDP; however, as time went by, the G7’s GDP slowly took a downward spiral due to the growth of India and China. Presently, the G7 only represent nearly 30% of the global GDP, whereas the G20 members now occupy 85% of the worldwide GDP and two-thirds of the planet’s population.

A thing of note is that for the past two years, the G20 has been held by developing Asian countries: Indonesia and India. This is because of their position between the West and Russia, as they can dismiss any animosity at the summit.