G20 Countries Agree on Full Membership of African Union — Lavrov

"I would like to immediately acknowledge the efforts of our Indian friends to focus on problems that require joint decisions and collaborative efforts," the minister said

© Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/TASS

NEW DELHI, March 2. /TASS/. The G20 countries agreed in New Delhi that the African Union will become a full member of the G20, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Thursday after the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.

"We have agreed that the African Union will henceforth be a full member of the G20, just as the European Union has been participating in this work for several years," he said.

"I would like to immediately acknowledge the efforts of our Indian friends to focus on problems that require joint decisions and collaborative efforts," the minister added. He emphasized that the agenda proposed by India "fully reflected the aspirations of all states to overcome ongoing crises, ensure sustainable growth, remove artificial barriers to trade, ensure fair competition, and generally strengthen the multilateral nature of the global system," as well as to ensure that developing countries have a greater voice in decision-making on international platforms.