G7 summit talks open amid rising global crises

The G7 summit opened in Sicily, Italy on Friday.The meeting gathered US president Donald Trump and other leaders of the world’s seven major nations.

It is the first for four of the group’s leaders including president Trump, British prime minister Theresa May and French president, Emmanuel Macron.

The bloc gathers annually to discuss issues including global economy, security and energy and this year’s talks are touted to be “robust” and “challenging” after president Trump dressed down NATO leaders for not spending enough on defence.

He will also face pressure over his skepticism on climate change that has put him at odds with other leaders.

The host country Italy not only wants to focus on Africa especially the issue of migration, but also on other positive matters such as promoting innovation in Africa.

“Africa is very important for us. Indeed, it is perhaps the focus of our G7 presidency,” said Raffaele Trombetta, the senior Italian diplomat who has led behind-the-scenes negotiations on the G7 agenda with colleagues from the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and Canada.

“We don’t just want to talk about crises, like migration and famine, but also to promote innovation in Africa and see what we can do to help,” he added.

Some African countries that have been invited for the two-day talks include Kenya where president Uhuru Kenyatta is the only one that has been allocated a slot to speak. The rest of the countries that will take part in the “outreach“ session of the summit are Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tunisia and Niger.

The G7 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. The EU also has representatives.