AU and G20: membership will give Africa more say on global issues – if it speaks with one voice
AFTER seven years of advocating for full membership, the African Union (AU) will join the Group of 20 “most important industrialised and developing economies”. It becomes the second regional bloc to join the group after the 27-member European Union (EU). The G20 was established after the 1999 Asian financial crisis as an informal grouping of ministers of finance and central bank governors. It grew out of the G7, which was formed in 1975 to deal with another complex global financial and economic crisis. ULF ENGEL, Professor, Institute of African Studies, University of Leipzig Since 2008, the G20 has met at…