Russia says African Union accession to G-20 on agenda of upcoming summit in New Delhi

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The issue of accepting the African Union as a G-20 member is included in the agenda of the 18th Unification summit in Delhi, India’s capital, on Sept. 9-10, Russia's sherpa to the association said on Thursday.

The point of African Union accession has already been included in the draft final declaration of the leaders of the group, Svetlana Lukash told the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti.

According to her, Moscow was among the first to support the relevant application, which sought to elevate the organization's status from observer to full member, and was submitted in 2022 by Macky Sall, the president of Senegal and chairman of the African Union.

"Russia believes that the implementation of the initiative of African states will help strengthen the positions of the world’s majority countries and the interests of the global South," the daily quoted Lukash as saying.

Russia's sherpa at the G-20 recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin also publicly supported the union's bid at the Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg at the end of July 2023.