France insists African Union should have a seat at the G20 table

French President Emmanuel Macron told world leaders gathering in Bali that Paris "supports the full and complete integration of the African Union into the G20", in the same way as the European Union is a member.

Senegal President Macky Sall speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York. AP - JOHN ANGELILLO

"If we want to express real solidarity with the South, we must accept that the African Union, like the European Union, comes to the table," Macron declared during a press conference on Wednesday.

South Africa is currently the only African member of the G20.

Senegalese President Macky Sall, who heads the African Union, has previously called for an overhaul of international governance, and urged greater African representation on bodies such as the UN Security Council and the G20.

In October, Sall said multilateralism had to "serve the interests of all" or else risk the "loss of legitimacy and authority."

Both Sall and South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa were in attendance at the G20 leaders' summit this week.

The French president also announced he will hold an international conference in June on a new financial pact with the South, insisting that "we must not ask these countries to support multilateralism if it is not able to respond to their vital emergencies".

Special drawing rights

This will include taking stock of the reallocation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights (SDR) from rich countries to poorer countries.

France has made a commitment, with a few other countries, to be able to reallocate 30 percent of "special drawing rights" to "the most fragile countries".

SDRs are a kind of currency created by the IMF. They can be granted by the IMF directly to member countries who can use them either to repay their obligations to the IMF or to adjust their monetary reserves.

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Macron also explained that the G20 meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday had "allowed progress to be made in terms of restructuring the debts of the most fragile countries, which is a key element of solidarity".

He insisted on getting the private sector more involved, especially in the sectors of energy, agricultural and industry, by making access to funding easier.

"We must, within the framework of this new financial pact, also integrate the question of climate vulnerability," Macron insisted.

A group of experts was mandated on the sidelines of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt to take steps to set up "specific financial mechanisms", he explained.