The G7 meeting is taking place at Borgo Egnazia, a luxury hotel in the southern region of Puglia. This venue features a Michelin-starred restaurant, is surrounded by olive trees, and includes a private beach with various water sports. The complex, designed in a traditional style with cobbled streets and flowers, also houses bars, restaurants, shops, and spa facilities, providing everything guests might need without having to leave. On the first evening, leaders will attend a dinner in their honor in the nearby city of Brindisi.
Attending the summit are top leaders from all G7 countries: the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, and Britain. Additionally, the European Union is expected to participate in all discussions, represented by the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission.
As is customary, the host country has invited guests from outside the G7. This year, Italy has extended invitations to Pope Francis, the King of Jordan, and leaders from India, Brazil, Argentina, Ukraine, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania, the current president of the African Union. The UN Secretary-General and the heads of the World Bank, IMF, African Development Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will also be in attendance.
The summit’s discussions will cover Africa’s development, climate change, and the West Asia situation, including the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, now in its ninth month. There will be two sessions on the Russia-Ukraine war, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participating in the first session. Other topics include immigration, the Indo-Pacific, economic security, and energy cooperation. Pope Francis will lead talks on artificial intelligence. A significant focus will be on China’s industrial overcapacity and the subsidies provided by the Chinese government to its companies, which concern many G7 members.
Prime Minister Modi, who invited leaders from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, and Seychelles to his swearing-in ceremony on June 9, is attending the G7 summit at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In a social media post on April 25, Modi mentioned his phone conversation with Meloni, where they discussed “taking forward G20 India outcomes at the G7” and reaffirmed their commitment to deepening their strategic partnership.
During Meloni’s visit to India in March 2023, India and Italy upgraded their bilateral relationship to a “strategic partnership.” Modi will depart for Italy on Thursday and is expected to return by late Friday evening. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, according to source. Modi is also likely to hold bilateral meetings with other leaders, including Meloni, on the sidelines of the summit. In 2023, Modi met with Zelenskyy and other world leaders during the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
