Last Thursday, in Jakarta, UN Secretary-General António Guterres spoke in favour of more significant inclusion of Africa in prominent international structures, such as the UN Security Council and the G20. Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal, highlighted the need to rectify Africa's under-representation in these bodies, a legacy of the era when most African countries were under colonial rule.
Guterres stressed that, when the current global structure was formed, there were few independent African countries, and most were under colonial regimes. This historical reality resulted in insufficient representation of Africa in today's global institutions.
During a press conference held on the sidelines of the 43rd Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Guterres expressed his enthusiasm for the efforts made by India to facilitate the African Union's accession to the G20, a group comprising 19 countries and the European Union. India, which chairs the G20 this year, has been working actively to have the African Union become a member of this influential group.
The UN leader stressed that he would be extremely pleased to see the African Union join the G20, a change that, in the Indian government's view, could stimulate productive discussions and concerted efforts to overcome various challenges faced by the countries of the Global South.
The next G20 summit is scheduled to take place in New Delhi next weekend, where these issues, among others, will feature prominently on the agenda.
