The African Union in the G20: a guide for Model G20 delegates

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The African Union (AU) sits at the G20 as one of two regional bodies, with the EU, alongside 19 countries. It became a permanent member in September 2023, during India's presidency. It is not a country but an organisation of 55 member states, so its delegate speaks for common positions agreed through the AU's own decision-making. This guide reflects official sources as of mid-October 2026.

At a glance

Founded: launched in July 2002 in Durban, South Africa, succeeding the Organisation of African Unity. Headquarters: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Leaders: Burundi's President Évariste Ndayishimiye is Chairperson of the AU for 2026, a post that rotates yearly. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti has chaired the AU Commission, its secretariat, since March 2025.
People and economy: about 1.5 billion people and a combined economy of roughly US$3 trillion (World Bank data, 2025), a sum of member figures rather than an AU statistic.
G20 membership: permanent member since 9 September 2023.
G20 presidency: none as of 2026. The AU sits outside the five regional groups that take turns to host.
G20 sherpa (April 2026): Francisca Tatchouop Belobe, an AU Commissioner.

The African Union's G20 story

Before 2023 the AU chair and the NEPAD chair attended by invitation, for example at Seoul in 2010. Opening the New Delhi summit on 9 September 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "India proposed permanent membership for the African Union in the G-20. I believe that we all agree on this proposal," and invited the AU's then Chairperson, President Azali Assoumani of Comoros, to take the seat. India's government says "India's initiative led to the African Union being accepted"; the New Delhi Declaration commends "all G20 members which paved the way".

In February 2024 the AU Assembly set its rules: at summits, "the Chairperson of the African Union assisted by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission shall represent the African Union". The Commission's Chairperson appoints the AU's sherpa, and positions are prepared "well ahead of each G20 meeting" so the AU "speaks with one voice".

At Rio de Janeiro in November 2024, its first summit as a member, the AU was represented by Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, then its Chairperson (ISS Africa). At Johannesburg in November 2025, with Angola's President João Lourenço as AU Chairperson and Youssouf attending, leaders "gathered for the first time on African soil", and their Declaration records a new Finance Track "Africa Engagement Framework (AEF) for 2025-2030".

What the African Union wants from the G20

The AU says its Assembly agreed "six key priorities" for its G20 work: fast-tracking Agenda 2063, its "blueprint and master plan" for the continent; reforming international financial institutions; raising farm output; a just energy transition; trade and investment for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); and, as one item, better credit ratings with investment in vaccine manufacturing. These are the AU's positions; other members may not share all of them.

Trade. The AfCFTA entered into force on 30 May 2019. Its secretariat calls it "the world's largest free trade area", "measured by the number of countries participating".
Debt. The AU says African countries often face "exorbitant interest rates due to unfair and biased credit ratings", a contested charge. The G20 noted in 2025 that interest payments on the total external public debt of low-income countries "have more than doubled over the past decade", and that the Common Framework has provided debt treatments to Chad, Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia.
Energy and climate. At the Africa Climate Summit in September 2025, African leaders set "the collective ambition of reaching 300 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030" and asked developed countries to raise Africa's share of global renewable energy financing "to at least 20% by 2030, up from the current 2%". They call climate finance "a legal obligation and not charity", a political position, not a G20 agreement. The Johannesburg Declaration notes "over 600 million Africans have no access to electricity".
Institutional reform. In 2025 the G20 welcomed "a 25th chair at the IMF Executive Board" for Sub-Saharan Africa. In May 2026 Youssouf said Africa wants at least two permanent UN Security Council seats, with the veto "while it exists", and five non-permanent seats; the G20 has called only for "an enlarged Security Council composition". The veto question is disputed.
Digital and AI. The AU endorsed a Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy in July 2024, and the Johannesburg Declaration welcomed an "AI for Africa Initiative".

Alliances and groupings

Regional blocs: the AU recognises eight Regional Economic Communities, including ECOWAS and SADC, as "the pillars of the AU". South Africa is the only African country among the G20's 19.
The EU: the other regional body at the table. In November 2025 Lourenço marked "the 25th anniversary of the African Union-European Union partnership".
BRICS: its members are states, including South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia, not the AU. Do not claim to speak for BRICS.

The African Union and India

India's foreign ministry describes "a demand-driven development partnership aligned with African priorities, envisaged in the African Union's Agenda 2063".

Trade: India is "Africa's fourth-largest trading partner", with trade of US$81.99 billion in financial year 2024-25.
Credit and medicines: India's foreign ministry says India has extended more than 190 lines of credit worth over US$10 billion to 41 African countries and supplies "nearly 50% of Africa's generic medicines".
Energy: India's foreign ministry says about 13% of India's total energy requirement comes from Africa and 39 African countries have joined the International Solar Alliance.
UN reform: India "has consistently advocated for Africa's representation in a reformed United Nations Security Council".
A postponed summit: the fourth India-Africa Forum Summit, set for New Delhi on 28 to 31 May 2026, was postponed by joint decision, citing "the emerging public health situation on the continent". New dates were to be "communicated in due course".

Recent developments

Preparing for the US year: at a retreat in Malabo on 28 April 2026, the AU planned "a Strategic Roadmap for engagement across all G20 tracks".
South Africa's absence: the US said it would not invite South Africa in 2026, giving reasons that South Africa rejects. The AU's sherpa said this "risks undermining the inclusivity and consensus-based principles that have long guided the G20 process". South Africa is not taking part in the US-hosted meetings; the AU and the EU still attend as members.
A rating agency: the Africa Credit Rating Agency launched in Mauritius on 7 October 2026. The AU says it "complements existing global credit rating agencies".

Representing the African Union at a Model G20

Speak as a union. Say "the African Union and its member states", and build on agreed AU texts. In February 2025 the AU said 6 member states were "under sanctions and therefore ineligible to vote" in the election of its Commission leadership.
Know your conference's year. If it simulates 2026, South Africa is absent and you may be the only African voice.
Likely allies. South Africa on debt; India, whose Prime Minister says it proposed your membership; the EU, your fellow regional body.
Likely red lines. An energy transition that compromises Africa's development, climate finance as debt-building loans, and credit rules the AU sees as unfair.
Phrase it the AU's way. Tie proposals to Agenda 2063 and the AfCFTA, and quote the Rio Declaration: "Africa's voice should be amplified in the G20 and all other international fora."
Attribute contested claims. Say "the AU says" on credit ratings and "African leaders say" on climate finance, and give both governments' views on South Africa's absence.
Quote your record: AU Assembly decision 873 (2024), the six priorities as the AU stated them in February 2025, and the New Delhi (2023), Rio (2024) and Johannesburg (2025) Declarations.

What to do next

Build your brief with how to write a Model G20 position paper and how a G20 leaders' declaration is agreed. Then read the G20 Sherpa Track and Finance Track explained and the 2026 G20 presidency explained.

Model G20 is One Young India's simulation of the G20 summit for students, held as a three-day residential summit at FLAME University.

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