The meeting of the leaders of the G7 in 2024, when the chairmanship in the format will pass to Italy, will be held in June in the southern region of Puglia, Prime Minister George Meloni said.
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“I was able to present our ideas for next year. I announced that the summit will be held in mid-June. We are waiting for the date of the European elections, it seems that they will be held on June 9-10, we will be able to hold the G7 immediately after,” she said at a press conference before returning from the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
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“The venue will be Puglia. At the meeting, where the global South will be the central theme, we will bring the leaders to the south of Italy,” said Meloni, whose press conference was shown on the Youtube channel of the Chigi government palace.
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The priorities of the Italian G7 presidency, the prime minister added, will be support for Ukraine, energy and economic security, migration and attention to Africa. “There has been deliberate forgetfulness about this in recent years. We believe that Europe … should increase its presence and cooperation with Africa,” Meloni said.
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According to her, the choice of Puglia is due to its symbolic meaning, linked to its geographical position, and its role as a bridge between West and East, which it has played for many centuries. Meloni mentioned that in 2018, Pope Francis chose the capital of Puglia, Bari, to hold a meeting with the heads of the Eastern Churches. Puglia, the Italian prime minister added, will help overcome the opposition between the West and the rest of the world.
