Africa is excited about the African Union countries becoming members of the Group of Twenty (G20), South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
"We are delighted that the G20 has accepted the African Union as a member," the president wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ramaphosa emphasized that the obstacles currently confronting humanity, especially those stemming from the Earth's shifting climate, necessitate a greater sense of unity and support from the worldwide community.
"Climate change, environmental degradation, unsustainable consumption and production and resource scarcity are challenges that can only be addressed collectively and with a great deal of solidarity," the leader outlined. "South Africa calls for an enhanced and expanded Global Partnership for Sustainable Development."
Additionally, the President of South Africa stressed the importance of aligning solutions to the challenges with the policies established in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development.
He added that developing economies bear the bulk of the impact of climate change, despite being the least responsible for the crisis.
The AU's inclusion in the G20 is a major milestone towards reforming multilateral institutions, South African presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya told Sputnik.
"We believe that the inclusion of AU in the G20 signals an important step towards the reforms that we have been seeking – of global multilateral institutions including the UN Security Council," Magwenya remarked.
The G20 summit will run in New Delhi until September 10. Invitations have been extended to the leaders of all G20 nations, as well as nine additional states (Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Spain, the UAE, Oman, and Singapore). The Russian delegation in India is headed by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The African Union, which comprises all the countries of the continent, has 55 members. It was founded in 2002 as the successor to the Organization of African Unity. The AU headquarters are in Addis Ababa.
The AU chairmanship is rotated annually among the continent's Heads of State and Government. This year, the organization is chaired by Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of the Comoros.