President of European Council Charles Michel said this a day ahead of the G2O summit being hosted by India.

"The European Union is looking forward to welcome African Union as a permanent member of the G20," Michel said at a media briefing.

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the G-20 leaders pitching for according the African Union the full membership of the grouping at its New Delhi summit.

Weeks later, the proposal was formally included in the draft communique for the summit during the third G-20 Sherpas meeting that took place in Karnataka's Hampi in July.

A final decision on the proposal would be taken at the G-20 summit. The African Union (AU) is an influential organisation comprising 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent.