Meloni at the G7 mends with Macron, confirms commitments with Zelensky and asks for more support on Africa
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Giorgia Meloni will leave the Hiroshima summit early. The news bounced in the press room, fed by sources from the Japanese Presidency. Palazzo Chigi has not yet officially confirmed but tomorrow morning, when the final session of the works begins, it seems certain that Meloni will already be in flight. He deems it necessary to return to follow the emergency closely flood in Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Tuscany and prepare the Council of Ministers on Tuesday morning, which will approve some provisions on the matter.
Bilateral diplomacy
Also on the second day of the G7 Meloni had several meetings on the sidelines of the working sessions, taking advantage of the breaks and the diplomacy of the informal bilaterals to proceed on several tables. The most awaited, and sensitive, the one with the French President, Emmanuel Macron: a tête-à-tête to continue the process of thawing after the tensions between Rome and Paris in recent weeks. On the topics of the meeting, no official communication from the Italian side but satisfaction with the outcome filters.
The comparison with Zelensky
Meloni also met the Ukrainian president Zelensky: it was an opportunity to reiterate Rome’s total support, given that tomorrow the prime minister will not participate in the final sessions of the summit, both of which will see the participation of the Ukrainian leader. Regarding the meeting with Meloni, Zelensky wrote on Telegram: «It is important to continue the dialogue between Ukraine and Italy on the subject of bilateral relations. Italy’s defense and political support for Ukraine and the first results of the visit to Italy, which took place on 13 May, were discussed. We need to improve our air defense capabilities, including the training of our pilots.”
Biden’s solidarity
On the sidelines of the work of the G7, there was then a brief dialogue with Joe Biden: the president of the United States expressed his condolences to Meloni for the victims of the flood that hit Emilia-Romagna, with “words of support, solidarity and comfort”, as reported by Italian sources.
Tunisia and the IMF
Turning to the work of the summit, this morning Meloni launched a proposal to the other leaders: to express support also on the occasion of this G7 for the African Union’s accession to the G20. You also talked about the Tunisia, denouncing the very difficult situation, the risk of default, stigmatizing the rigidity of the International Monetary Fund and asking, conversely, for a pragmatic approach towards a country whose crisis can also have disruptive consequences on the migration front. In another session, Meloni stated that the Partnership for Infrastructure and Investments (PGII), “is a concrete, intelligent and serious way to cooperate with a non-predatory approach”. The PGII is considered by many observers as the G7-branded alternative to the Silk Road.
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