Indian PM Modi proposes full G20 membership for African Union

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for the African Union (AU) to become a member of the G20, the club of the world's richest countries due to meet in India in September.

“We have invited the African Union with the idea of ​​granting it permanent member status” of the G20, Narendra Modi said during the B20 business forum which was held ahead of the G20 summit on September 9 and 10.

In December, US President Joe Biden had already expressed the wish that the African Union join the G20 as a permanent member, assuring that "it was going to happen".

Only one African country, South Africa , is currently a member of the G20, which brings together 19 of the world's largest economies plus the European Union , representing 85% of world GDP and two-thirds of the world's population.

Based in Addis Ababa , capital of Ethiopia , the AU has 55 member countries, totaling three trillion dollars in GDP.

The Indian Prime Minister also affirmed that his country, China's great rival , had the capacity to compensate for the supply problems caused by the Covid crisis.

India is the "solution" to create "a reliable global supply chain" , because "the world has changed a lot after Covid-19", Mr Modi said.

Thursday at the BRICS summit (group of large emerging countries) in South Africa, Mr. Modi spoke one-on-one with Chinese President Xi Jinping .