G7. From Ukraine to AI, how many challenges at the Borgo Egnazia summit

Not being a "fortress" and offering standards, this is the ambition of the G7 leaders who from tomorrow, 13 June, to Saturday 15, will meet in Puglia, in Borgo Egnazia. The 50th G7 summit will be chaired by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and will include Pope Francis among the guests

ROME – From the crises in Ukraineand in theMiddle East to “economic security”, from migration to the new challenges of artificial intelligence: dossiers on the summit table starting tomorrow of the heads of state and government of the G7, a forum of “like-minded” countries, which share “values and standards” and are ready to propose them to the world as a “competitive offer”.
To present in these terms the The event in Borgo Egnazia, in Puglia, starting tomorrow, are from Italian sources. Which highlight how this is the approach of the current presidency, entrusted precisely to the government in Rome. An approach that would be confirmed by the invitations issued in recent months to countries that do not belong to the G7 but which are crossroads of the world, in particular of that “global South” destined to increasingly impact international balances.
“Competitive offer” therefore , of values and principles, aimed at those who are less “like-minded”. And then the topics on the agenda on which to seek a G7 synthesis, in the form of a final declaration in points that leaves its mark, outlines a path and speaks to everyone.
The premise is that the forum was born in the 1970s last year to deal with economic issues, specifically the energy crisis. However, the interconnections between “economic security”, political choices and social critical issues have appeared increasingly evident over time. This year’s Italian Presidency confirms this, the sources underline, with an “all-round” commitment, with 130 working groups and 21 ministerial meetings, some of which have already been held .

IN THE FOREGROUND CRISIS AND CONFLICTS

At Borgo Egnazia we will also discuss crises and conflicts. Not only the Middle East, with Jordan‘s participation in the summit, while there is hope for an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian organization Hamas which will allow a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and the start of a negotiation process in the Gaza Strip and beyond. Ukraine will be in the foreground, with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Puglia on the eve of a conference scheduled from next Saturday in the Swiss city of Lucerne which excludes Russia and promises a path of “peace”. Among the issues on the G7 table is the management of Moscow‘s assets confiscated in Europe on the basis of decisions that could guarantee resources for the Kiev government and army.

THE AFRICA DOSSIER: MATTEI PLAN AND MIGRATIONS

Then there are dossiers that take longer to complete. A special place will go to Africa, also due to its proximity to Italy, which looks at the continent through the prism of the Mattei Plan and promises new initiatives and agreements under the sign of the “partnership”.
Another issue, considered a priority, is migration. In this case the assumption is that the G7 does not present itself as a “fortress”, but is ready to develop paths along multiple lines. There are at least three: the right not to have to emigrate, abandoning one’s country due to lack of opportunities; the fight against illegality and human trafficking, through investigative and intelligence structures; the provision of legal channels, starting from the awareness that mobility also means opportunities. An integrated vision, this, according to Italian sources, also demonstrated by the new numbers of the flow decree with which Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “tripled the numbers of entries”.

SPECIAL GUEST POPE FRANCIS: HE WILL TALK TO GROWERS ABOUT AI AND ‘ETHICS OF ALGORITHMS’

There will then be discussions and unpublished guests in Borgo Egnazia. On Friday Pope Francis will be the “keynote speaker” of the session dedicated to artificial intelligence. The dialogue should touch on some aspects to which Italy attributes centrality: ranging from the use of AI with respect for human beings and in an ethical dimension to the repercussions of new technologies on the world of work, up to the risk that the acceleration worsen the gap between the advanced countries and the more vulnerable ones, in Africa and beyond.
Holding these dossiers together, according to the sources, will be the G7’s need to “balance a free trade regime that is fair with the issues of security of the economies of the members of the forum”. With the promise, shared by Meloni as guest of the summit: not to be a “fortress”.