The AU’s 55 member states—which include the disputed Western Sahara—have over the years pressed for meaningful roles in the global bodies that long represented a now-faded post-World War II order, including the United Nations Security Council.
African Leaders Welcome Admission
African countries’ admission into the G20—just like their desire to join BRICS and other alternative multilateral organizations such as the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Boao Forum, and New Development Bank—could be explained by four main reasons, says Paul Nantulya, research associate and China specialist at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
“First, they want to expand platforms that can amplify Africa’s voice and influence at the global level over and above pre-existing institutions,” Mr. Nantulya told The Epoch Times in an email.
The second reason, the researcher says, is Africa’s quest for alternative sources of loan finance and instruments to support key priorities such as energy and infrastructure.
“Third, they want to continue forging newfound South-South solidarity in an environment where global tensions and rivalries are increasingly escalating.
“Fourth, they are seeking new markets and new forms of economic intercourse in light of the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, says membership in the G20 will help to “amplify” the continent’s voice in global affairs.
It will “increase Africa’s voice, visibility, and influence” on the global stage while also providing a platform to advance the common interest of Africans, Kenyan President William Ruto said.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said the invitation means that Africa has been recognized as “a key player” on the world economic landscape.
Africa Courting New Global Powers
However, the AU’s member states have long advocated for reforms to a global financial system—including the World Bank and other entities—that forces African countries to pay more than others to borrow money, deepening their debt.African leaders have impatiently challenged the framing of the continent as a passive victim of war, extremism, hunger, and disaster that’s pressured to take one side or another among global powers.
“Africa faces the same challenges that the G20 members face, yet we have not been included in the discussions that seek to get solutions,” she told The Epoch Times.
Africa is increasingly courting investment and political interest from a new generation of global powers beyond the United States and the continent’s former European colonizers.
U.S. President Joe Biden last year called for the AU’s permanent membership in the G20, saying it’s been “a long time in coming.”
“With a burgeoning youth population, 70 percent of the world’s solar potential and as a major source of critical minerals for the energy transition ... institutions that claim to represent the global economy [while] excluding 18 percent of the world’s population will quickly lose legitimacy,” Mr. McNair, who’s also a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, told The Epoch Times in an email.
The de facto coordinating body for the global economy has excluded representation for the 1.4 billion people in Africa “for too long,” he said.
“As a result, decisions that are made about the management of debt, the IMF and World Bank and other important bodies leave out those important perspectives. And these decisions have tangible impacts on people’s lives—health services, education, salaries.
‘Unsurprising’ Admission
His view is shared by Joseph Siegle, director of research at the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies, who believes that a permanent AU presence within the G20 will facilitate stronger relationships that can lead to more collaborative action on a host of transnational challenges.“The admission of the African Union to the G20 helps institutionalize a seat at the table for Africa when policies about global economic priorities are debated,” Mr. Siegle told The Epoch Times, noting that this can help to ensure that African interests are represented and considered.
“This benefits both African countries and the G20 by building more African ownership over initiatives that affect the continent, improving the likelihood of their positive and sustainable impact.
“It also helps facilitate a more equitable and just international community, which is in all countries’ interests.”
He said China’s quick endorsement of AU admission is “unsurprising” because the communist state has long postured its foreign policy as aligned with the Global South and has used multilateral institutions as a means of advancing its interests.
The United States, meanwhile, has long-standing and multifaceted ties to Africa as a leading source of investment, trade, and development assistance.
“Under the Biden administration, there has been a renewed emphasis on strengthening African partnerships. So, the United States support for the AU fulfills a pledge from the Africa Leaders Summit in Washington in December 2022,” Mr. Siegle said.
Ms. Kairo said she didn’t find it surprising that the United States and China were amenable to the AU joining the G20.
“The multilateral system is shifting and becoming more inclusive than ever,” she said.
“The other narrative out there is that both countries have vested interests in Africa, but what we believe at Development Reimagined is that this support will bring them closer to the continent.
“Remember, Africa intends to be the largest manufacturing hub, and this is an opportunity for them to work closer with each other for Africa’s benefit.”
No one will be fighting for Africa’s voice at the G21—Africa has a voice and it will be heard, she said.
One Voice, Multiple Interests!
Another question that clouds the AU’s admission into the G20 is how challenging it may be to find a common position among its member states—from the economic powers of Nigeria and Ethiopia to some of the world’s poorest nations such as Burundi and Somalia.But Mr. Nantulya says it’s normal for African countries to always differ on priorities at a national level based on their unique conditions, political systems, historical evolution, and overall culture.
Nonetheless, he said that when it comes to common positions on international issues, or on issues affecting the continent as a whole, the picture is “very different.”
“African countries since independence have an in-built tradition and culture of negotiating and coming up with common positions at the multilateral level. These positions are properly codified and socialized at the national level,” Mr. Nantulya said.
“Given this proven track record in developing unified positions on global issues, I do not believe African countries will have great difficulty in coming up with common positions that the AU can champion and pursue within the G20.”
