Nairobi, 18 September, 2023 / 9:58 pm (ACI Africa).
Now that the African Union (AU) is a permanent member of the Group of Twenty (G20), its leadership has to be vocal about Africa’s interests, and help realize “economic justice” and “lasting peace” across the globe, Catholic Bishops in Africa have said.
In a statement shared with ACI Africa on Sunday, September 17, members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) welcome the September 9 “good news” of AU’s admission to the intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries and the European Union (EU) that is popularly known as the G20.
“We accompany you with our prayers, imploring the help of Almighty God so that the African Union can make Africa’s voice heard within the G20 and make its contribution to the establishment of economic justice and lasting peace in the world,” Catholic Bishops in Africa say in the statement that SECAM President, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), signed.
They add, “We hope that the African Union will be able to play a major role in promoting the development of African countries within this organization which brings together several countries from five continents.”
AU is the second regional body to join the G20 after the EU. Other G20 members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, and Japan. Others are Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom.
