India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the African Union to join the Group of 20 leading economies (G20) on Sunday.

The G20 is made up of 19 countries plus the European Union, which together account for around 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world's population. The group includes geopolitical rivals like the US, Russia and China, but also countries with a smaller global reach. South Africa is the only member from the African continent.

"We have a vision of inclusiveness and with that vision, we have invited the African Union to become permanent members of the G20," Modi said at the a business forum in New Delhi on Sunday.

Modi is not the first G20 leader to support the African Union's membership.

Earlier this year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the bloc has his full backing for a permanent seat at the G20.

Bringing the Global South to the table

India currently holds the G20 presidency, a position which rotates each year between the 19 member states. 

In this role it has struggled to bridge differences over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but it has instead pushed to reach a consensus on issues that disproportionately affect developing countries, also known as the Global South.

"When India assumed the G20 presidency last December, we were acutely conscious that most of the Global South would not be at the table when we meet," said Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

"This mattered very much because the really urgent problems are those faced by them," he added. "India, itself so much a part of the Global South, could not stand by and let that happen."

zc/dj (AFP, AP)