South African President Cyril Ramaphosa would like to see the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 group of leading economies which meet annually to discuss policy on health, trade and other burning issues affecting the world, APA learnt on Tuesday.
Speaking during a working session on Food and Energy Security at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Bali, Indonesia, Ramaphosa said the inclusion of the continental group would result in a more unified approach to solving challenges currently plaguing the world.
“We call for continued G20 support for the African Renewable Energy Initiative as a means of bringing clean power to the continent on African terms,” the president said.
He added: “In this regard, this can be best achieved with the African Union joining the G20 as a permanent member.”
He said it was only through a collective and united response that the international community “can resolve the challenges of food and energy insecurity across our world.”
Ramaphosa expressed regret at the slow progress on negotiations between developing and developed nations at the ongoing 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in Sharma el-Sheik in Egypt.
“We are concerned at the lack of progress on key issues in the multilateral negotiations at COP27, especially with respect to loss and damage, finance, technology, capacity building, adaptation and the just transition,” he said.
The South African leader noted that the outcomes of both COP27 and the G20 Leaders’ Summit should reaffirm the principles of equity and ‘common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities’.
“Industrialised countries in the G20 need to demonstrate more ambitious climate action and must honour their financial commitments to developing economies,” he said.
NM/jn/APA