2023-09-07 18:15:10
The subject was on the table for many many years : the African Union should soon have permanent member status within the G20, this organization which brings together the 19 most economically powerful states on the planet. This was confirmed by the Bloomberg agency this Thursday, September 7. This permanent seat for the African Union (AU), on the model of the one already available to the European Union, should be formalized next year, when Brazil will succeed India at the head of the G20.
“It’s totally legit, she should have gotten it a long time ago“, reacts on the DW, Demba Moussa Dembélé, Senegalese economist and director of the African Forum of Alternatives. “The continent is very vast, and rich in human and natural resources, and it goes without saying that Africa is present.” He insists on the symbol of this decision. “Now, with Africa having the status of a participant and no longer an occasional Alex Reed, it will be able to better prepare for these G20 meetings. She will be better able to speak on her behalf, rather than someone else speaking on behalf of Africa.”
President-in-Office of the African Union, Senegalese President Macky Sall had campaigned extensively for this seat Image: TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images
What repercussions?
However, will these meetings with great fanfare be able to offer concrete results on the continent, in particular direct investments? “People who want to invest in Africa don’t wait to go to the G20 to do so. But at the G20, at least, the member countries present will no longer be able to say that they have not heard Africa”, emphasizes Demba Moussa Dembélé. And then ask “Will they take things seriously or not? This is the big question, but they will no longer have the possibility to say that Africa was not present.”
Many States had already declared themselves in favor of this seat. This is particularly the case in Germany, where organizations such as the Friedrich Ebert Foundation also campaigned in this direction for years. “The G20 is a very important player when it comes to financial crises, the future of the international order, so it was important that the continent had a seat, and not just South Africa as a country“explains the head of the Africa department of this foundation today, Henrik Maihack.
During Germany’s G20 presidency in 2017, Angela Merkel launched the “Compact with Africa” initiative, aimed at promoting private investment in AfricaImage: Michele Tantussi/REUTERS
If he does not believe in direct economic benefits either, he also insists on the symbolism of this decision and on what it might bring in terms of diplomacy. “I think that can change things. Take the example of the debt crisis, which arises in several African countries: there we would need fair rules, abandonment of a party. On this issue, the African Union will be able to speak for more countries than South Africa might.”
Henrik Maihack also recalls the central role of the G20 during the Covid-19 pandemic. “During this period, we saw the role played by the G20 in this debt policy. And that shows even more how important it is for Africa to be represented there.”
Questions still open
It remains to be seen whether the African Union will be able to speak with one voice on behalf of 55 States at the same time, which are very different economically. “It is not the European Union that has a common trade policy. This is why this is only a first step, it will then be necessary to ask which African countries can also become members, as a State. But it is a first country which proves that we finally recognize the weight of Africa in world politics.“, concludes Henrik Maihack.
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