STRATEGY. The US president must formalize his administration’s support for the AU’s admission to the G20 group as a permanent member.
Par Africa Point
© NATHAN POSNER / Anadolu Agency via AFP
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Joe Biden will defend, during a summit held over three days from Tuesday in Washington, the idea of integrating the African Union into the G20, the group bringing together nineteen of the most advanced economies as well than the European Union, in order to reinforce the key role played by the continent, the White House indicated last week. It must be said that this highly anticipated meeting should serve as a framework for the new strategy deployed by the Biden administration, which consists firstly of getting closer to the African continent after the Trump years, and secondly of blocking the way for China and Russia who have cultivated their influence there in recent years. The first US-Africa summit, held in 2014, was an initiative of former President Barack Obama. This year, almost all the leaders of the member countries of the African Union have been invited, with the exception of the transitional presidents of Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Sudan. Countries currently suspended from the pan-African organization since their coup.
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Repositioning Africa as a separate geopolitical actor
“It is high time that Africa had permanent seats at the table of international organizations and initiatives,” said Judd Devermont, executive director of African affairs for the White House National Security Council. “We need more African voices in international conversations about the global economy, democracy and governance, climate change, health and security,” he added. He said the United States would discuss the role of the AU with India, which will chair the G20 in 2023.
Made up of 19 countries plus the European Union (EU), the members of the G20 represent around 80% of world GDP, 75% of world trade and more than 60% of the world’s population. South Africa is currently the only African country to feature in the G20, born in its current form during the 2008 financial crisis. The G20 has given increasing attention to the concerns of the African continent. In 2017, the German presidency launched the G20 Compact with Africa to help promote private investment in the continent, and in 2016 the Chinese presidency worked to support industrialization in Africa. More recently, the organization intervened during the global health crisis (debt service suspension initiative, “common framework for debt treatment” or even vaccination).
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Priority to international issues
The United States released a strategy document for sub-Saharan Africa in August, highlighting the region’s importance, particularly in the face of threats from China and Russia, and pledging to expand defense cooperation with like-minded African countries. And on this crucial question of security and defence, the United States has particularly changed its position. During the United Nations General Assembly in September, Joe Biden also supported the demand for permanent seats on the Security Council for Africa and Latin America, and recalled the support of the United States for Japan and the United States. ‘India. It must be emphasized that the Biden administration was disappointed that much of the African continent refused to follow the United States in condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the first vote on March 2, 2022.
She has more broadly supported the diplomatic role played by the African Union on the continent, and cultivated friendly relations with the current AU chair, the Senegalese head of state Macky Sall, who is expected next week at the summit in Washington. Host of the G20 last month, Indonesia had invited Macky Sall to participate in Bali. The latter recently called for an overhaul of international governance, asking for greater representation of Africans in international organizations such as the G20 or the UN Security Council. In October, Macky Sall had launched that multilateralism should “serve the interests of all”, under penalty of exposing itself to a “loss of legitimacy and authority”.
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