GERMAN Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed his support for the African Union’s bid to get a seat at the G20 group of large economies during his second trip to Africa.
Speaking after meeting African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat in Addis Ababa, Scholz said that ‘Africa must play a bigger role in international relations, a role that does justice to the continent and its growing population.’ He added that he was ‘convinced’ the African Union would get a seat at the G20 soon.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had called for the inclusion of the 55-country bloc last year, and his proposal received swift support from US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron as the West seeks to position itself as a partner to African countries amid growing competition with authoritarian countries like Russia and China.
‘A G20 seat would give one of the fastest-growing regions of the world a bigger voice on key issues such as climate change,’ Scholz said. He also discussed contributing to peace and security with Faki, noting that they had talked about the crisis in Sudan.
Scholz has already made two trips to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office in late 2021, reflecting his view that the West needs to improve its ties with the Global South as the world becomes more multipolar.
However, Faki noted that ‘African states are divided,’ adding that ‘a certain number of UN resolutions have been approved by some others have abstained for their own reasons, whether historic or current.’ The AU leader said the bloc hoped for a political solution for Ukraine.
