Thanks, first of all: to everyone who collaborated in organizing such a complex event, contributing “to the success of this initiative”. This is how the Prime Minister began her press conference the day after the closing of the G7 in Puglia, thanking in particular the police and journalists. «I am grateful to the people of Puglia, to the local institutions, who welcomed us into this wonderful land which I hope will be even more appreciated on a global level». According to Meloni, «Italy has once again demonstrated its ability to be capable of organizing events of this extraordinary importancewe often forget what we are capable of, but today it is right to underline it because it is there for all to see.”
The summit concluded, Meloni recalled, with a document that had already been approved the day before and which denotes the union of intent. «The final declaration contains many commitments on as many global challenges that we are called to take on in this difficult moment, decisive for our present and for our future: it was essential to clarify our unity with respect to these aspects», said Meloni, mentioning by name all the leaders who contributed to the success of the summit, starting with «Joe». «With the final declaration, the G7 reiterates its united commitment to defend the international system of rules, called into question by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Hotspots around the world continue to multiply and we intend to continue supporting Ukraine and have chosen to continue to strengthen our commitment. The G7 has reached an agreement that is anything but obvious, an extremely important agreement.” And it was important, to dismantle “the narrative of the West against the rest of the world”, to confirm a completely different approach: “I believe it was a very important signal to give: the G7 does not want to be a closed fortress, it must not defend itself from something or someone but” gives a system of work that “wants to offer itself to the world to seek solutions related to development together”. «SI’m proud“of having offered “a completely different story” – he added – Also thanks to the presence of a special guest like Pope Bergoglio: “We experienced an extraordinary day, a historic moment, with the presence of the Pontiff who I cannot stop thanking enough, it was the first time in almost 50 years of the history of the G7 that a Pontiff participated in the proceedings, giving us his invaluable point of view on artificial intelligence and staying for over three hours to listen to all the interventions”.
After the thanks Meloni moved on to the contents. First of all, the commitment to Ukraine: «The G7 reaffirms its united commitment to defend the international system of rules based on law, put at risk by the Russian war of aggression». Even if there were those who thought the opposite, “we intend to continue to support Ukraine and we have chosen to strengthen our lines of action with a 360-degree commitment”, underlined Meloni, recalling “the non-obvious agreement” on the profits of Russian assets, “to be defined from a technical point of view in the coming weeks”. The G7 then found “full agreement on the conflict in the Middle East” ensuring «full support for the valuable mediation proposal brought forward by the USA. I also talked about it with Biden and other leaders. I am particularly proud of the commitment shown by Italy, particularly on the humanitarian front, which everyone recognizes in us. We also reiterated our willingness to make every effort to avoid an escalation and arrive at a structural solution according to the two peoples, two states principle.”
But also Africa, a front that Meloni particularly cares about, and the Mattei plan demonstrates this: «I am proud that the G7 has shared an Italian approach» on Africa, the G7 «decides to join efforts to build a new development model for African nations based on an equal partnership». «We also organized a side event on the synergy of the three investment plans for Africa: there was a lot of talk about Africawhat makes the difference, however, is demonstrating that the documents do not end there but follow concrete facts», in the various sectors, from energy for growth, for the production and distribution of green energy, to the sustainable use of land, to the project to encourage investment in the continent using clean technologies, to the project to support the creation of a center for artificial intelligence. Other important fronts are those of artificial intelligence – «Artificial Intelligence must be used «at the service of humanity»- and climate changesfront on which Meloni says no to ideological approaches: «We must work with a pragmatic approach, always keeping in mind the needs of our production system, that is, we cannot fall into the paradox that in order to favor the environment we end up favoring nations that do not have many problems damaging the environment».
Meloni then recalled that «within the G7 we have agreed on a strong political commitment in favor of a fairer and more stable international taxation system, the famous global minimum tax, a topic I particularly care about. Yesterday we listened to the OECD secretary explain to us that she is ready to be signed on a technical level. The G7 and the OECD have worked in parallel”, now it’s up to the States and “Italy’s will is there and I hope it will be done as soon as possible”.
Furthermore, «the G7, at the Italian impetus, spoke for the first time about migratory flows and the fight against human traffickers»: «We must guarantee the right not to emigrate and to leave one’s home», added Meloni. In the fight against illegal immigration, we must “follow the money”, “follow the money as Falcone and Borsellino said” about the mafia. “I believe that if we strike at the heart of criminal organizations by following the proceeds of trafficking, we can make a difference in our ability to fight the slavers of the third millennium,” he says.
Finally, Meloni emphasized the diplomatic importance of the event: “I had private conversations with various leaders” from Biden to Trudeau, from the Japanese to the Indian prime minister, he recalled. «I am very proud of the work done, of the success of the summit, the eyes of the world were focused on us, I am really proud of how our nation managed to amaze and chart the course», concluded Meloni, thanks again for the team work.
Finally, Meloni responded to the reporters’ questions, which raised some thorny issues, like that of rights: «On the topic of why there is no reference to the word abortion, it is only because things taken for granted are not repeated, we recalled the Hiroshima declarations where it was clear that access to free and safe abortion was guaranteed, I believe sincerely that the controversy was constructed in an artificial manner, which did not exist in our discussions, I understand the reasons why these controversies arise and are fueled, but it was not a topic under discussion”. On commitment for the rights of LGBQT+ people“there are no steps backwards, as we have not done in these two years, and therefore the expectations of some have been disappointed, because the story did not correspond to the truth”.
As regards the European structures, however, Meloni explained that discussions on the EU presidency will open on Monday, which «is up to the EPP: when the proposal arrives, we will obviously make our assessments. The first two issues that interest me, as the Italian government, are: 1) that Italy is recognized for the role it deserves; 2) that Europe understands the message that has arrived from EU citizens.” On the topic of the brawl in the Chamber, Meloni, however, was very quick: «It is serious that members of the majority fall into provocations», she glossed over by underlining that «not even this managed to ruin the excellent outcome of this summit». She then added: «I think that citizens must ask themselves what the love for our nation is of political exponents who try to provoke to obtain a result by mocking and occupying government benches: for all those who are good at giving us lessons on respect for institutions, perhaps if we start from respect for our own nation we also arrive at respect for institutions, which I haven’t seen.” On China, Meloni confirmed that he will travel to China for a mission, but has not yet specified the dates. While regarding the next US elections, the prime minister explained that she was not “worried”, “with the understanding that I prefer not to enter the elections of allied countries with a straight leg just as I hope others do not do when it comes to the elections in our country” .
