The African Union (AU) has been granted membership status in the Group of Twenty (G20). The AU is the second regional continental government union to become a G20 member, following the European Union (EU).
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, the G20 chair, announced this on the 9th (local time) during the opening address at the G20 summit held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, according to major foreign media.
Granting membership status to the AU was a contentious issue, but broad support from G20 member countries is considered to have played a significant role in the decision.
The AU, established in 2002 by merging the African Economic Community (AEC) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), is a continental government union of Africa. It is headquartered in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and includes all 55 African countries as members. The combined population of these countries reaches 1.4 billion, and the official languages are highly diverse, including English, French, and Spanish.
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