The African Union has been granted permanent membership to the G20, host nation India has announced, in an historic expansion of the economic bloc.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi invited the president of the 55-member African Union (AU) to take a seat at the table among permanent members at the opening of the two-day summit on Saturday morning, saying there was consensus among existing members to approve the move.

The current AU president Azali Assoumani, who is also president of the Comoros, was escorted by Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar to a seat and Mr Modi rose to hug him amid a round of applause from delegates.

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