G7, day two in Borgo Egnazia: the first time of a Pope
The first time of a Pontiff at the G7, a forum of global powers created almost 50 years ago to deal with the consequences of the energy crisis and high oil prices
BARI – Today is “a historic day” at the G7: Giorgia Meloni, president of the Council who hosted the summit, defined it with these words, in reference to the participation of Pope Francis. The first time of a Pontiff at the G7, a forum of global powers born almost 50 years ago to deal with the consequences of the energy crisis and high oil prices.
According to the program, Francis will leave the heliport of the Vatican at 11, to arrive after about an hour and a half at the Borgo Egnazia sports field, where the summit has been taking place since yesterday. Meloni will welcome him in the courtyard of the Apulian resort.
The Pope’s participation includes ten bilateral meetings, with heads of state and government not only from the G7 but also from countries of the global South, protagonist of this day of “outreach”, i.e. of external projection and widening of the range of action. For Francis, talks are also scheduled with the Kenyan William Samoei Ruto, the Indian Narendra Modi, the American Joseph Biden, the Brazilian Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Algerian Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Above all, However, the Pope will intervene as a “keynote speaker” in the session dedicated to artificial intelligence, with its opportunities and challenges. Francis will speak and inspire by also focusing on the perspectives deemed essential by the Italian presidency: the need to put the human person at the centre, to always be respected, in an ethical way; then the implications for the world of work, in the short and medium term; lastly, but not least for a G7 that promises not to be a “fortress” and opens up to the global South, the risks that new technologies will multiply the gap with the most fragile countries. Presidents and prime ministers are waiting to listen.