AA/ Dakar/ Alioune Ndiaye
Senegalese President Macky Sall reiterated on Tuesday his call to the leaders of the G20 for permanent member status for Africa within this structure bringing together the 19 most industrialized countries in the world and the EU.
The Senegalese president spoke at the G20 summit (November 15 to 16) being held in Bali, Indonesia, as a guest.
“I would like to emphasize that in this renewal of multilateralism to which we committed in Bali, Africa remains an essential partner on the international scene. It is the 8th economic power by its GDP, owns more than 60% of arable land with an estimated population of nearly 2.5 billion by 2050,” Sall stressed.
“It can therefore nurture a just ambition to be integrated as a permanent member of the G20 Forum and I would like to invite my peers to do so,” said the AU Chairman-in-Office who participated in the session. 1 of the Summit on ”Food Security and Energy”.
Sall further advocated for empowering Africa to address food and energy insecurity issues.
“Our economies are more vulnerable because they are too dependent on the outside. At the same time, we don’t have enough fiscal space to cushion these shocks,” he said.
“The urgency of a growing increase in the risk of famine to which more than 2.2 million people are exposed in the Sahel recommends that we prioritize the restoration of global food supply chains in order to make them more sustainable, just, inclusive. and resilient”, he added, referring to the need for the reallocation of unused special drawing rights and a relaxation of their eligibility conditions to better support African efforts.
“The paradox of an Africa with immense agricultural, forestry and water potential, often faced with food shortages, must be resolved,” he insisted.
Regarding the energy issue, Sall stressed Africa’s commitment to respecting the Paris agreements while recalling the urgency of transforming energy systems so as to guarantee clean, sustainable, affordable and inclusive energy transitions. .
“Giving up the exploitation of our natural resources while electricity is still a luxury good both for the population and for our companies because of its high cost is to restrict our potential for industrialization”, said namely the chairman of the AU.
He thus urged the international community to take into account the plural priorities of the various African nations in the ambition of a global energy transition in line with the Paris agreement.
“Africa remains open to the choice of a carbon-free economy, but this requires technology transfer and investment in renewables,” he said.
The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit is themed “Recovering Together, Recovering Stronger”.
Only part of the dispatches, which Anadolu Agency broadcasts to its subscribers via the Internal Broadcasting System (HAS), is broadcast on the AA website, in a summarized manner. Please contact us to subscribe.
