The announcement by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday that the African Union had been given permanent membership in the Group of 20 major world economies gave him more impetus in his efforts to give the Global South a stronger voice as host of this year's annual summit.
The statement was made during Modi's opening speech for the weekend G20 conference as widening international divisions and the absence of significant figures threatened to make agreement on the most difficult problems hard.
However, there was broad support for making the AU the second regional organization to join the G20 permanently after the European Union.
The G20 has extended an invitation to the African Union to become a permanent member.
When Indian Prime Minister Modi welcomed Azali Assoumani to join the G20 as a permanent member, a group from Africa erupted in jubilation.
The Indian PM then gave Assoumani his customary hug. History has been made, a delegation member commented.
The G20 will become more inclusive as a result of the AU's membership, which has been one of India's key goals during its G20 chairmanship.
Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, and Emmanuel Macron are present at the inaugural G20 summit in South Asia.
Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China are two prominent figures who are represented at the summit but are not in attendance themselves.
The leaders will talk about topics like food security, climate change, and debt relief for developing nations.
In front of the general elections next year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hoping that a successful summit will help him project the image of India as a global force.
But it might be difficult for leaders to reach consensus on a common declaration if there are differences over Ukraine.