Top topics are Western support for Ukraine and the war in Gaza. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also wants to talk about Africa, writes ‘s Italy reporter Jenna Vehviläinen.
Jenna Vehviläinen ‘s Italian editor
The leaders of the major economic countries, i.e. the G7 countries, are gathering today for a three-day summit in Italy.
The theme of the meeting is Africa, and the head of the African Development Bank and the presidents of Kenya, Tunisia and Algeria have also been invited to Apulia in southern Italy.
Still, the meeting will likely discuss the war in Gaza in particular, as well as the West’s new support measures for Ukraine. The President of Ukraine will also participate in the meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
According to media reports, the purpose of the meeting is to negotiate and possibly decide on a new loan support for Ukraine worth tens of billions of euros. It would be partly financed by the profits available from the Russian central bank from the funds frozen after the start of the war.
It is unclear in what ways For example, the president of France, who suffered a defeat in the European elections, reacts to the content and conditions of the support package rushed by the United States Emmanuel Macron and the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz. This is the first time that the leaders of major EU countries meet after the European elections.
The G7 meeting is hosted by the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloniwhose position at home and in Europe was strengthened by the clear victory in the European elections.
It is also Meloni’s handwritingthat Italy has put Africa so big on the agenda of this year’s G7 meetings.
The decision may surprise, but it is part of his foreign policy line.
When Meloni became Prime Minister of Italy in October 2022, African development was one of the cornerstones of his first parliamentary speech.
It surprised many, because at the time of the Italian parliamentary elections, Meloni promised everything but investments in Africa. He wanted to stop all people trying to reach Europe by boat from the other side of the Mediterranean.
Last January, Meloni organized an Africa summit in Rome. There he presented his ambitious plan: more than 5 billion euros in investments related to education, energy production and infrastructure in African countries. The meeting was attended by dozens of African leaders and the leadership of the European Union, who thanked Meloni for the important opening.
– The goal is a new kind of equal cooperation that is not based on patronage, said Meloni in an interview with the Italian public broadcasting company.
Meloni has clearly realized how to talk to African leaders who are tired of being bossed around by the West.
Meloni’s own interests are behind it, however. He has worked tirelessly to raise Italy’s profile in the EU and internationally. In particular, however, he aims to ensure that Africans no longer come across the Mediterranean to Italy.
It is an acute issue for Meloni’s voters: last year, the number of migrants and asylum seekers who came across the Mediterranean to Italy reached record numbers since 2016.
The melon has gone around to apply for a new presidency of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen in the wake of, for example, Tunisia and Egypt concluding agreements aimed at curbing immigration.
In addition to immigration, the availability of electricity is important for Italy.
After the start of the war in Ukraine, Italy, heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, had to reorganize its energy policy. Italy was looking for new gas suppliers, especially from Africa.
Meloni dreamed that Italy would become an international “energy hub” – a hub for green hydrogen imported from Africa to Europe.
‘s EU correspondent Hannele Muilu says that the EU leaders have the opportunity to discuss the choice of the president of the Commission at the G7 meeting: