President Joe Biden next week will announce U.S. support for the African Union's admission to the G20 group of the world's largest economies as a permanent member, a White House official said on Friday.

Biden will make the announcement during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, White House adviser Judd Devermont said.

African Union Chair and Senegalese President Macky Sall and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had urged Biden to increase their representation on the G20, Devermont told The Washington Post, which first reported the upcoming announcement.

The African Union represents the continent's 54 countries. The G-20 is composed of the world's major industrial and emerging economies and represents more than 80% of the world's gross domestic product. 

South Africa is currently the only African member of the G-20.

"We need more African voices in international conversations that concern the global economy, democracy and governance, climate change, health, and security," Devermont said.

Biden has invited 49 African leaders to take part in the three-day Washington summit that starts Tuesday.

“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,” Ramaphosa told the gathering. “This can be best achieved with the African Union joining the G20 as a permanent member." 

Devermont said the announcement builds on the administration’s strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa and its advocacy for adding permanent members from Africa to the UN Security Council. 

The G20 representation would allow African countries to more effectively press the group to implement its pledge to help the continent to cope with climate change.  

The high-profile push for inclusion in the G20 comes at a time when the AU has shown renewed unity and purpose on some high-profile issues, banding together to combat COVID-19 and establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, which came into force in early 2021. 

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