The fact that the African Union (AU) has been given a permanent seat at the G20 table in the same way as the European Union – its twin international organisation – is a major step forward for Africa’s voice in the cenacle of the world’s 20 largest economies, and the success of the G20 summit under the Indian presidency, which ended in New Delhi on Sunday 10 September.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, had already expressed his satisfaction ahead of the summit, pointing out that the EU had supported the AU’s bid since it was announced in June 2022 (see EUROPE 13246/13).
On Sunday, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in a statement issued on behalf of the EU27, welcomed “the accession of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20”, arguing that this “will increase Africa’s representation in multilateral fora, provide an additional platform to discuss common challenges and contribute to devise global solutions”.
The EU is to invest in the ‘Trans-African Corridor’. On the sidelines of the G20 summit, the EU and the United States announced that they would be helping to support a major infrastructure project in Africa: the ‘Trans-African Corridor’. The EU’s commitment to support this project as part of the €150 billion earmarked for Africa under the EU’s ‘Global Gateway’ investment programme was announced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
“Our aim is not just to connect a landlocked region to the sea. Our partnership will also invest in local value chains, in clean energy and in the skills of the local workforce”, she added.
In the immediate future, the EU and the United States will help the governments to launch pre-feasibility studies for the construction of the new Zambia-Lobito railway line, which will run from eastern Angola through northern Zambia, according to a joint statement published on Saturday 9 September.
When it comes to the debt of the poorest countries, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen to see alleviated, the G20 did not make much of an impression. The G20 leaders made no commitments other than to continue work on the World Bank/IMF debt restructuring framework.
With regard to the enormous financing needs of the most vulnerable developing countries, they pledged to “scale up financing from all sources for accelerating progress on United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals” and to “pursue the reform for better, bigger and more effective Multilateral Development Banks to address global challenges to maximise developmental impact”.
See the G20 declaration: https://aeur.eu/f/8hy (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)