Global South to be at the core of next year’s G7 summit in Italy

Next year’s G7 summit, set to take place in Italy, will focus greatly on the south of the world, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said at the recent G7 summit in Japan on Sunday.

Following the G7 summit, where Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were the only female leaders, Meloni said that Puglia, a “symbol of dialogue between West and East”, would host the summit after the 2024 EU elections.

It will be a summit “in which the South of the world will be central”, the prime minister said, adding during a session dedicated to the ‘Global South’ that the sea will be a central topic due to its economic, commercial and cultural importance.

“The sea is part of our culture, our worldview. Our democracies were born and grew up as maritime nations. The discovery and opening of new maritime routes have always brought great historical and social changes”, she added.

At the meeting with the heads of state and government, Meloni anticipated the priorities of the upcoming summit: respect for international rules to protect Ukraine, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, energy and economic security, migratory flows and a particular focus on Africa “on which there has been guilty forgetfulness”.

Meloni spoke in favour of the African Union joining the G20 and described the Italian approach to Africa as ‘not predatory’ but rather a mutually beneficial partnership.

The premier had to leave the summit early after the region of Emilia-Romagna was struck by extreme floods.

European Council President Charles Michel said that the EU “stands ready to provide support in every possible way” to help Italy repair the damage caused by the flooding.

Face-to-face with leaders

Meloni met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who attended the G7 as a guest – and spoke of potential plans to join the European jet coalition for Ukraine.

“We do not have F16s, so we can hardly take part in the project: there is talk of possible training of Ukrainian pilots, a decision we have not yet taken and which we are evaluating with the allies”, Meloni said.

While positive talks took place with US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the summit was also an opportunity for dialogue between Meloni and Macron after being heavily criticised for her migration policy by politicians close to Macron.

Canadian President Justin Trudeau, however, said his country is concerned about the positions Italy is taking on LGBTQ+ rights – a topic that came as a ‘surprise’ as it was not on the agenda for the bilateral with Italy, Italian sources report.

Before the summit, Meloni met with Japanese President Fumio Kishida, and the two nations have recently elevated bilateral relations to the rank of strategic partnership.

(Federica Pascale | EURACTIV.it)