The African Union joined the Group of 20 leading economies at its summit on Saturday, giving the continent broader representation in the often-divided bloc as host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to portray his country as a voice for the Global South.

"With everyone's approval, I request the African Union head to take his seat as a permanent G20 member," Modi said in his opening address, banging a ceremonial gavel.

Modi, who has painted the summit as India's diplomatic coming of age and is pushing for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, said it turned the grouping into a "people's G20."

The African Union at full strength has 55 members but six junta-ruled nations are currently suspended. Collectively, it has a GDP of US$3 trillion with some 1.4 billion people.

As the G20, the grouping included 19 countries and the European Union, representing 85 percent of the world GDP, with South Africa its only member state from the continent.

"As a continent, we look forward to further advancing our aspirations on the global stage using the G20 platform," Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is at the summit, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The G20 was conceived in the throes of the 2008 financial crisis as a way to manage the global economy, but finding consensus among members has been increasingly difficult in recent years.

The AU membership could be among the most tangible outcomes from the summit, with Modi trying to forge consensus on a host of contentious issues. (AFP)