EU takes advantage of Putin and Xi's absence at G-20 to engage Africa - Bloomberg

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing its own sources.

It is noted that the 27-nation bloc is seeking to show that it is serious about revising its partnership with Africa, despite the heavy legacy of colonialism.

According to the sources, at a meeting in India on September 9-10, European leaders want to approve the African Union's application to become a permanent member of the G20.

Bloomberg writes that permanent membership, rather than the status of an "invited international organization," would give the African Union the same status as the EU.

"It’s part of a drive to provide African countries with a stronger voice when international organizations decide on measures that affect them, including efforts to address global warming — overwhelmingly caused by emissions from G-20 nations," the sources added.

In addition, the agenda of the meeting in New Delhi includes a discussion of the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine for global food security, a situation that threatens to escalate after Putin refused to renew the grain deal. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will take part in the talks on September 9. On the African side, the leaders of South Africa, a member of the G-20, as well as Egypt, Nigeria and the Comoros, the current chairman of the African Union, will participate.

G20 summit in India: what is known about the participants

On August 10, the world media speculated that Russian President Putin might personally attend the G20 summit in India, despite the fact that on March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for him.

On August 15, it is reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to the G20 summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10, but the list of invitees does not include representatives of Ukraine.

On August 16, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar confirmed during a meeting with international media that Ukraine had not been invited to the summit.

It is worth noting that Ukraine was invited to the last G20 summit in Indonesia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then presented the Peace Formula to the participants of the meeting for the first time via video link.

On August 25, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a briefing that Putin would not attend the G20 summit to be held in India in September.  Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has already announced that he will not go to New Delhi and will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

On August 31, the media reported that the G20 summit in India,  would most likely be held without Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Later, US President Joe Biden said he was disappointed by reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping would probably not attend the G20 summit in India.

On Tuesday, September 5, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the information spread in the media that President Xi Jinping would not attend the G20 summit in India.