Africa: Has the AU Successfully Taken Africa's G20 Baton From South Africa?

What the report says

An Institute for Security Studies analysis published by AllAfrica asks whether the African Union has effectively taken over Africa’s G20 role after South Africa’s presidency. The piece says the AU became the continent’s only G20 voice after joining the group in 2023, but notes that South Africa still brings far more experience and has continued to help shape AU engagement with the forum. The article is dated 4 September 2026 and discusses events in the context of the US G20 presidency.

According to the analysis, South Africa’s 2025 presidency had advanced a wide development agenda, including inequality, financial inclusion, better access to capital for African countries, debt relief, and climate-linked financing. The US presidency is described as narrowing that agenda substantially, with fewer ministerial meetings and a stronger emphasis on growth, deregulation, productivity and other core financial issues.

The article says the AU tried to respond by coordinating positions with South Africa and by holding a strategic retreat in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in April. Participants reportedly discussed the AU’s role in areas such as industrialisation, debt burdens and inclusive growth, but the analysis notes that no roadmap or outcome document has been made public. Commentators cited in the piece say the AU has not clearly communicated its negotiating goals or any concrete gains.

The analysis concludes that the AU has not yet shown clear leverage in the G20, and warns that a year of limited African visibility could become the new norm unless the continent reasserts its priorities in future G20 talks.