AU Chairman to lead African leaders in attending G20 summit

NAIROBI, Kenya - The African Union Chairman and Senegal President Macky Sall plan to attend the upcoming G20 summit in Bali-Indonesia. According to a communique from Senegalese, the head of state will be among the African continental leaders at the two-day meeting.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Rwandan President Paul Kagame have both arrived in Bali in the Republic of Indonesia for the annual G20 Leaders' Summit.

The AU chairman will be part of leaders deliberating with world leaders whose economies account for 85 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 80 percent of world trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.

The Summit takes place under the G20 Presidency of Indonesia, and is themed “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”.

At the summit the Senegalese head of state will be wearing “two hats” at the meeting, representing both the AU interests and that of the state of Senegal.

Sall’s visit is his first to a G20 summit which comes as Africa looks to hold wealthier nations to account for their Climate pledges. It will follow Sall’s attendance at the United Nations COP27 climate meeting in Egypt where he was a leading advocate for rich countries to contribute more cash to help Africa adapt to climate change.

On the other hand, President Kagame will be attending the annual G 20 Summit in his capacity as the Africa Union Development Agency (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee.

Under the theme “Recover together, Recover Stronger”, the two-day summit will be hosted under the flagship of the Indonesian G20 presidency.
The meeting will, according to Village Urugwiro[Rwanda’s government Official Twitter Accounnt], discuss three priorities of Indonesia’s G20 presidency, including global health architecture, digital transformations, and sustainable energy transitions.

“Over the last year, G20 focused on the global COVID-19 pandemic and how to collectively overcome its related challenges,” a statement reads in part.

The G2017th Summit meeting will see the European Union Representative attending the session. This year’s in-person attendee list has been in the spotlight as the world grapples with the effects of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

Already Senegal is in discussions with G20 members about a deal to support its transition to low-carbon energy.

The so-called Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) was pioneered by South Africa’s deal last year with countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, providing funding to speed up its transition away from coal power.

Senegal communique states that “He will be there at the conference and one of the agenda items he will be discussing with the G20 partners is the Senegal JETP.”

While addressing the 77th session of the UN’s General Assembly, president Sall had called for a seat for the AU within the G20.

GAROWE ONLINE