Modi calls for inclusion of African Union in G20 to amplify Voice of Global South

Narendra Modi in G20 Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for the African Union to be included as a full and permanent member of the G20, bolstering India’s commitment to the development of Africa and championing the Global South.

The African Union represents 54 countries from one of the most resource-rich continents. But Africa also has the most impoverished people.

Modi proposed to the leaders of the G20 countries that the African Union be included at their summit in New Delhi in September. The Prime Minister’s proposal comes when African countries have expressed their frustration at being marginalised in global institutions.

The large representation from Africa at this week’s New Global Financial Pact summit co-organised by France and India.

in Paris reflected this rising frustration. The summit, with representation from the leading global economies, will discuss pressing issues such as World Bank reforms, climate financing and debt distress.

But the African countries increasingly feel they are being shortchanged as priorities shift towards helping Ukraine and dealing with climate change. They are angry that Africa has very little say in global institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations and the proposed reforms are likely to ignore their concerns.

Largest stakes

“We, the Global South, have the largest stakes in the future,” Modi said at the Voice of Global South organised by India early this year. “Most of the global challenges have not been created by the Global South. But they affect us more.”

The Prime Minister pointed out that India has always shared its developmental experience with the Global South.

“As India begins its G20 Presidency this year, it is natural that our aim is to amplify the Voice of the Global South,” Modi had said.

Modi’s move to include the African Union at the forthcoming G20 summit under India’s presidency is a smart move. It pre-empts others from walking away with the credit and coincides with the peaking frustration among African nations at being excluded from global decision-making.

The G20 is an intergovernmental forum of the major developed and developing economies. The members represent about 85 percent of global GDP, over 75 percent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population.

The grouping comprises 19 countries and the European Union. The G20 this year also invited nine non-member "guest" countries including Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain and Nigeria, besides organisations such as the UN, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the IMF.

Observers said including the African Union will be the right step towards a “just, fair, and more inclusive and representative” global architecture and governance.

India has always maintained regular and cordial contacts with African countries since independence. Under Modi’s government, the engagement with African countries has been enhanced significantly.

The President, vice president, Prime Minister, the foreign minister and other senior officials regularly visit the continent as India implements a series of projects for the development and progress of the African nations.
Other nations have also tried to step up their engagement with Africa in recent years. This is largely because China’s footprint had grown significantly in the continent over the past few decades as it spent billions of dollars in the African infrastructure sector under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

US commitment

In this period, China also struck deals with African countries to import resources for its development while using the continent as a lucrative market for Chinese goods, arms and technology.

Alarmed at China’s growing presence in the continent, US President Joe Biden tried to revive America’s links with the continent by hosting a three-day US-Africa summit in December. He offered a $55 billion developmental package to convince African leaders of his commitment to Africa in the face of China’s growing influence in the continent.

Russia, Japan, Turkey and other European countries have also tried to get a foothold in Africa in recent years.

Africa is a large bloc and its support is solicited by most countries on crucial issues at the UN such as the Ukraine war, climate change or reforms of the UN and other global bodies.

But African nations note that while funds for the continent’s development have been steadily dwindling every year, most western countries have been extremely generous to help Ukraine. Bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa fell by 8 percent in real terms to $29 billion in 2022, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

However, global bilateral aid rose by 15 percent during the same period as $16 billion went directly to Ukraine and European countries spent $29 billion to host refugees from Ukraine.

Modi has said that to deal with the challenges of the Global South and re-energise the world, “We should together call for a global agenda of Respond, Recognise, Respect, Reform.”

As the world shows keenness to engage the Global South, there could be little opposition among the G20 members to this initiative of Modi at the summit.