Indonesia will push the Group of 20 as this year’s host to include the African Union (AU) to ensure the plight and concerns of the continent would be represented in key meetings.
President Joko Widodo will invite the union when leaders of the world’s largest economies convene in November. He made the remarks while meeting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) MD Kristalina Georgieva on Sunday.
While divisions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine kept a recent meeting of finance chiefs from reaching a consensus, the G20 charted some progress toward addressing the global food and fuel crisis.
The surging cost of grains to fertilizers have exacerbated a hunger crisis affecting countries including Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, while nations from Ghana to Zambia have tapped the IMF to help revamp their debt.
The AU is a grouping of 55 States with a combined gross domestic product of more than $2-trillion, which would place it within the world’s top ten largest economies. South Africa is the only G20 member from the continent.
BLOOMBERG