Pope Francis, Modi, and Zelenskyy to join G7 summit in Italy

The official guest list for the G7 summit, to be held this week in Italy, includes the names of many leaders, particularly Pope Francis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with several Arab leaders.

The summit will mainly discuss the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, with guests attending side meetings rather than participating in the official discussions.

Amid escalating global tensions, the leaders of the G7 countries will gather at the luxurious coastal resort Borgo Egnazia in Apulia, southern Italy. 

The G7 leaders are US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the summit host, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Meloni invited other leaders to participate in informal discussions at the summit, with their names published on Tuesday's guest list.

The guest list includes several African leaders, particularly Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Tunisian President Kais Saied, Kenyan President William Ruto, and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.

Africa, climate change, and development will be the topics of the G7's opening session on Thursday.

The opening session will be followed by a session on the situation in the Middle East, then discussions on Ukraine, the main topic of the summit, in which Zelensky will participate, followed by an official dinner.

The guest list published on Tuesday also includes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Argentine President Javier Milei, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the G20.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Jordanian King Abdullah II are also expected to attend, according to the official list.

Italian diplomatic sources indicated that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will attend the summit as a guest, though his name did not appear on the list.

The summit's agenda for Friday includes discussions on migration, the Indo-Pacific region, economic security, and artificial intelligence.

The Pope will attend the meeting dedicated to artificial intelligence.

The summit is scheduled to conclude Friday at 7:00 PM (5:00 PM GMT), with Meloni holding a final press conference on Saturday afternoon.

 

AFP