[Exclusive] U.S. Pushes to Elevate Poland to 'G20 Member'
G20 Founded in 1999; No Precedent for Individual Countries Joining as New Members
Expected to Be Discussed at Oct. 30-31 G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta
The United States, which holds the G20 presidency this year, is pushing to elevate Poland to full membership. Since the G20 was established in 1999, no individual country has ever newly joined as a full member.
On October 20, the U.S. Department of State responded to a query from The Asia Business Daily about whether the United States was pushing for Poland to join the G20, saying, "The United States will continue discussions with G20 members this year on making Poland a full member as soon as possible."
Poland has participated in the G20 as an observer, alongside Spain, the Netherlands and Singapore. However, the United States, as G20 president, took the unusual step of reclassifying existing observers as "full-participation guests" and "guest-observers," granting Poland alone full-participation guest status and allowing it to take part in the G20's annual process. This is seen as groundwork for full membership. Meanwhile, South Africa, a full member, was completely excluded from this year's G20 discussions. Spain, which had previously held permanent invitee status, has been classified as an observer and is participating in a limited capacity. South Africa and Spain are countries that have had diplomatic disputes with the United States since President Donald Trump took office.
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Unlike other permanent international organizations, the G20 has no codified rules for admitting new members, so unanimous agreement among existing members is required. Even as president, the United States is unlikely to be able to push through the admission of a new member unilaterally. This year's G20 summit will be held in Miami, United States, in December. Ahead of the summit, a G20 foreign ministers' meeting chaired by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will take place in Atlanta, United States, on October 30 and 31. Poland's bid for full membership is also expected to be discussed at the meeting.
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