From wars to Africa to Ia, this is what the World Leaders will discuss at the G7 in Puglia

In Giorgia Meloni's intentions, the G7 'is not a fortress, but an offer of values', extended to the invited countries, which 'does not close but opens up to the world'. Compared to the alternative of other 'less like-minded' countries, the point of convergence is the sharing of democratic standards and values'. For this reason, Italian sources point out, it will be 'inevitable' to begin the Italian-led summit, in Borgo Egnazia from 13 to 15 June, from crisis areas, from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Then Africa will be discussed, with a push for equal partnership in an Italian-style approach along the lines of the Mattei Plan. And then economic dossiers: from competitiveness with China to the free market, and something on global taxation that could be a success of the Italian presidency'. In the wake of the Japanese presidency, there will be a focus on the Indo-Pacific. Health and disability will be discussed, which enters 'for the first time in the themes of a G7'. But, above all, the theme "strongly desired" by the premier, "not without some surprise" from the other leaders: that of artificial intelligence. The Pope 'will be the great guest' who 'agreed to be present for the entire session' on Ia on Friday afternoon. The reflection will concern the "ethical and human centric" use of AI, its impact on employment, and how to prevent a "very powerful tool" from turning into a further gap with the least developed countries. On all these dossiers, which were also addressed by 130 working groups and 21 ministerial meetings over the course of the year, the summit "will have to make a synthesis of priorities", the sources go on to emphasise, starting from the assumption "of how and to what extent the G7 can make a contribution to global stability".

The leaders will be received by President Sergio Mattarella on the evening of 13 June at an official dinner at the Swabian castle in Brindisi. Thursday 13 will also be the day of Volodymyr Zelensky, to whom the Big Seven will reiterate political and military support. The point of reflection, however, will be "how the war, the budget and reconstruction continue to be financed". In Borgo Egnazia "an Italian commitment to reconstruction" in Ukraine will be announced. And, in general, there is a broad political consensus to find additional funds. But one of the knots remains that on the use of the extra profits from frozen Russian assets: 'Negotiations are underway to make progress, but there are technical problems yet to be resolved,' the sources explain. As, for example, on how to reconcile a 10-year loan and the assets frozen for six months. Or on how to link G7 and EU commitments. On Gaza, reference will instead be made to the 3 June declaration of the Major Parties, which supports the agreement outlined by Joe Biden for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, a major increase in humanitarian assistance and the launching of a path towards a two-state solution.

But the summit will look at the 'broader' Middle East, including the Houthi threat to commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Libya. Many actors from the region have been invited to Apulia: Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia (whose presence remains to be confirmed), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, crucial - sources say - also for the migration dossier, "a topic of very high political sensitivity in many countries", not only in Italy. On this Meloni's approach is based on three guidelines: support for countries of origin and transit to strengthen "the right not to emigrate"; "the promotion of a coalition" of countries committed to fighting traffickers, "focusing attention on financial flows"; and the provision of legal immigration channels. The summit's outreach also includes Mauritania, the African Union's rotating chair, Kenya, and the African Development Bank. Then again, there will be the UN with Antonio Guterres, the IMF, the World Bank, the OECD, the G20 troika - Brazil, India, South Africa - and Javier Milei's Argentina.

"Meloni has this broad vision of interconnection between issues. Neglecting Latin America would have been a mistake,' Italian sources say, announcing that, in view of the upcoming elections in Venezuela, an appeal for respect for democracy in Nicolas Maduro's country is also planned. Finally, the G7 (with 1,800 accredited journalists and operators) will be the occasion for bilateral meetings. The requests to Meloni are 'many', but 'the times are what they are': immediately after the summit, sources confirm, the premier will leave Puglia to reach the Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland.