Rome: President Meloni chairs a meeting of G7 Leaders, focusing on Ukraine, Middle East, Venezuela and handover between the Italian and Canadian G7 Presidencies

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called a virtual meeting of G7 Leaders to discuss key international issues, in view of the handover of the Italian Presidency of the Group to the Canadian one. The meeting saw first of all a exchange of views on the main areas of international crisis.

G7 Leaders have once again condemned the brutal Russian aggression, reaffirming its intention to support the struggle of the Ukrainian people for freedom, sovereignty and independence. They also deprecated the growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea and indicated their intention to continue applying measures against actors supporting Moscow's war effort.

In the Middle East, the Leaders discussed the situation in Syria and called for the end of the Assad regime to mark the beginning of a peaceful and orderly transition through the definition of an inclusive political process. They have then reiterated the importance of respecting the truce in Lebanon, which represents an important step forward towards peace.

The G7 have renewed support for US-sponsored plan for Gaza truce, with the release of all hostages and an increase in humanitarian assistance to the civilian population, with a view to ending the crisis and ensuring a path towards a two-state solution. The Leaders also have discussed the situation in Venezuela, reiterating condemnation of the ongoing human rights violations and renewing the commitment to facilitate a peaceful transition to democracy.

Finally, a balance sheet was drawn of the Italian Presidency of the G7, to which the Leaders paid unanimous tribute appreciation both for the quality of the organization and for the importance of the results obtained during the Leaders' Summit in Puglia, of the 23 ministerial meetings (including for the first time those on Defence, Tourism and Disability), as well as in the more than 130 working group meetings and civil society engagement formats.

The many concrete initiatives launched during the year were recalled and highlighted, starting with the financing of $50 billion in “Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration” (ERA) loans that will soon be disbursed and repaid using extraordinary revenues from the immobilization of Russian sovereign assets.

The package of decisions taken to promote sustainable development, particularly in Africa, was recalled, intervening in crucial sectors such as:

• Food safety, through the Apulia Food Systems Initiative to strengthen agricultural production on the African continent;
• energy transition, with the launch of Energy for Growth in Africa for the construction of infrastructure for the production and distribution of green energy;
• fighting climate change, establishing the Adaptation Accelerator Hub, to support the most vulnerable nations in their efforts to adapt to and mitigate climate change, in line with the objectives adopted at the COP.

The synergies between these programs and the European Union's Global Gateway, the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment and the strategy that Italy has developed at a national level with the Mattei Plan were highlighted.

The Italian Presidency also relaunched the role of the G7 with respect to major contemporary global issues, such as artificial intelligence and migration. About AI, the action plan defined in its strategic lines in Borgo Egnazia and then elaborated by the Ministers of Labour traces some boundaries to the development of this technology so that it can be used to serve humanity, without multiplying inequalities between nations and within our societies. In this perspective, The G7 have created a logo that will allow people to know which organizations are adhering to the Hiroshima AI Process, committing to using AI in a safe, transparent, ethical and trustworthy way.

On migration issues, the agreement reached in Borgo Egnazia on the modalities for addressing the issue of migration has been one of the cornerstones of the Italian Presidency, relaunching the commitment to extend cooperation in the management of flows, in partnership with the countries of origin and transit, on the basis of a strategy structured on three pillars:

1) addressing the root causes of irregular migration;

2) strengthen border management and the fight against transnational organised crime, monitoring financial flows, to combat criminal networks that profit from migrant smuggling and human trafficking;

3) activate regular channels for legal, safe and planned migration. These lines of action, agreed at the Leaders' Summit in Puglia, have been operationally implemented by the G7 Interior Ministries and will be taken up again during the Canadian Presidency.

Numerous other goals have been achieved in a wide variety of areas, from trade to economic security, from health to social inclusion, from cybersecurity to global financial issues, including progress towards a fairer tax system internationally. In light of all these results, what best represented the spirit of the Italian G7 Presidency was the constant search for the unity of the Group as a promoter of an offer of values ​​addressed to the world. A G7 strong in its cohesion, but open to dialogue and to accept the requests that come from the Global South to resolve together the great issues of the current time.

It is on these solid foundations of values ​​and with the hope of full success that the Prime Minister symbolically passed the baton of the G7 Presidency to Prime Minister Trudeau., who outlined Canada's priorities starting from January 2025, XNUMX and in view of the Leaders' Summit scheduled for next June in Kananaskis (province of Alberta).

The Italian Presidency leaves the remit to the Canadian one along a path of continuity which concerns both the G7's attention to hotbeds of international instability and the further development of the lines of action launched in recent months, the result of the commitment and work of all the Italian administrations involved in this joint effort. Finally, the Prime Minister expressed his thanks to all the members of the Government, their collaborators and the teams involved in taking care of the contents, negotiations and organization of the Italian Presidency of the G7.