06:59 19 May

The first session of work starts: focus on the global economy

The first working session of the G7 summit dedicated to the global economy has begun in Hiroshima. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sits at the round table between European Council President Charles Micheal and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

06:34 19 May

G7: EU coordination meeting underway in Hiroshima

On the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, an EU coordination meeting is underway. We learn this from Italian sources. The summit will be attended by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. At the center of the meeting, according to what we learn from Italian sources, Ukraine, industrial issues, defense of the common interests of the EU and energy transition.

06:00 19 May

Zelensky will go to the G7 in person

Ukrainian President Zelensky will travel to Japan to attend the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima in person, Bloomberg reported.

03:33 19 May

The G7 kicks off with a tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb - follow the live broadcast

The G7 summit officially began with the leaders' visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other leaders arrived at Memorial Park for a welcome ceremony, welcomed by Japan's Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida.

Gathering the big 7 at the site of the explosion of the first nuclear device in a conflict is an event of great symbolic value, especially in light of the threats of the use of atomic weapons repeatedly expressed by Russia in recent months. The leaders visited the Peace Museum. Then there was the joint signing of the Museum's Book of Honor with a message from each leader that will then be carved on a stone stele placed near the memorial. Later a laurel wreath was laid at the Cenotaph of the victims of the atomic bomb.

Memorial Park is built around the Genbaku Dome, the only building left standing after the explosion. The building housed the Hiroshima Prefectural Institute of Commerce and is preserved in the state in which it was after the explosion (except for minor reinforcement works of the structures). Since 1996 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The work of the G7 will start in a few minutes, with a working lunch dedicated to the theme of cooperation. In the afternoon sessions we will talk about the war in Ukraine, security in the Indo-Pacific, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation,

16:37 18 May

Giorgia Meloni's tweet on the eve of the G7

16:35 18 May

Meloni: Italy as a protagonist, our role is fundamental to face the challenges

''Tomorrow the G7 in Hiroshima, Japan will begin. Italy is a leading nation on the international scene and our role in facing present and future challenges is fundamental and essential: it will be an honor to represent it. I'll keep you updated." So Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Twitter, a few hours before the start of the Hiroshima summit.

14:16 18 May

13:46 18 May

13:44 18 May

G7: Meloni, 'united for the protection of rules, peace and stability'

"I thank Japanese Prime Minister Kishida for his warm welcome on the eve of the G7 summit in Hiroshima. I am very pleased with our strategic partnership, which is enabling us to intensify our cooperation. We are united in our commitment to a rules-based international order, peace and stability, from science and technology to industrial cooperation and security." This was written on social media by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

11:35 18 May

G7, bilateral Biden-Kishida

US President Joe Biden will have his first engagement on the sidelines of the G7 with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a meeting scheduled immediately after the one between Kishida and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Kishida and Biden are expected to discuss their countries' alliance's response capabilities amid growing concerns about China and North Korea, within a more complex geopolitical framework.

Yesterday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that the president will visit tomorrow, as the first official moment of the summit, the Peace Memorial Museum with his G7 counterparts, in memory of the tragedy of the first atomic bomb dropped on the city by the US on August 6, 1945. Sullivan also explained that the president will not make statements, noting that from Biden's point of view the visit is not a bilateral occasion: "It will be like one of the G7 leaders going to pay tribute."

10:19 18 May

Meloni exchange jokes with Kishida: some problems with the spindle

Exchange of words between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, before entering with the delegations in the bilateral room, still underway, in Hiroshima, on the eve of the G7 summit. "I'm happy to be here, I'm happy for our relationship," Meloni says, arriving smiling at the hotel where the meeting was scheduled. Kishida welcomes the premier asking how the trip went. "Very well - Meloni replies - I only had some problems with the time changes". The premier arrived in Hiroshima tonight from Reykyavick, passing through a technical stopover in Alaska.

10:00 18 May

Bilateral Meloni-Kishida: working together for security is essential

"Thank you very much Fumio, I am very happy to be here, my congratulations for the determination and seriousness with which you are managing the G7 in a year certainly not easy". So the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the opening of the bilateral with the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Hiroshima. "Since Italy is the next president of the G7, it is even more fundamental that our cooperation is very close. We are two regional powers that have roles of responsibility together with the leaders of the G7, at this stage it is crucial that we work together for security, and for economic security," Meloni said. taking place at the Rihga Royal Hotel in Hiroshima.

09:52 18 May

Kishida in Meloni: working with Italy, in view of next year's G7

It is my firm intention to work closely with Italy ahead of next year's G7," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, speaking to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, ahead of their bilateral meeting in Hiroshima. Welcome to Japan - she said again - I am very pleased to welcome you to my city. During my visit to Rome, we decided to elevate our relations to a strategic partnership. I would like to further flesh out this report and in this regard I am very pleased that the negotiations on film collaboration have come to an agreement."

09:49 18 May

Kishida to Meloni: condolences for victims of bad weather in Emilia-Romagna

"Welcome to Japan, I am very pleased to welcome you to my city. I express my condolences for the victims of the bad weather in Emilia Romagna". So the Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida at the opening of the bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Hiroshima.

09:16 18 May

G7, Biden arrived in Hiroshima

US President Joe Biden has arrived in Hiroshima ahead of the G7 summit that officially opens tomorrow.

With the US president there is also Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are now expected to succeed. In the evening, however, it will be the turn on two different planes of the Presidents of the Council and the EU Commission, respectively, Charles Michel and Ursula Von der Leyen. Finally, tomorrow morning, President French Emmanuel Macron will arrive.

08:21 18 May

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on her arrival in Japan to attend the G7

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

G7, Giorgia Meloni

07:54 18 May

G7, Kishida: World leaders in Hiroshima

"I'm going to Hiroshima to host the G7 summit. This is an important summit at a time when the international community is at an historic turning point. As President, I will approach this meeting with determination to lead the international community. I would like to reaffirm our determination to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and demonstrate the determination of the G7 to uphold a free and open international order, based on the rule of law." The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, writes on Twitter.

"Finally the curtain will rise on the G7 summit," he adds on the eve of the start of the summit. "Leaders from all over the world will meet in Hiroshima - recalls Kishida, who in about an hour will have a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni -. The public is being asked to take charge of some inconveniences in the form of safety measures, traffic restrictions and more, and I ask for your cooperation. Join me in making the Hiroshima Summit a success!"

08:15 18 May

G7, the greeting of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida on the eve of the G7

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

G7, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida

07:51 18 May

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida: We want a world without nuclear weapons

07:15 18 May

Prime Minister Meloni on her arrival at Hiroshima airport

Rainews

Meloni in Japan for the G7

05:30 18 May

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Hiroshima

The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, landed on Thursday in Hiroshima, which will host the G7 from Friday to Sunday. To welcome her at the airport high representatives of the government and institutions of the province and the city and the Ambassador of the Italian Republic in Japan, Gianluigi Benedetti.

During a technical stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, Meloni participated in a videoconference at a point of the Civil Protection Operational Committee, with Minister Musumeci, the President of the Bonaccini Region and the Head of Civil Protection Curcio, who updated Meloni on the weather situation and on the critical issues that remain in the area.

At 16 pm local time (9 am in Italy), the premier will be engaged in a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The meeting follows the meeting of 10 January in Rome during which there was an in-depth exchange of views on the G7 work programme, the subsequent Italian presidency (2024) and the major global challenges. The face-to-face, diplomatic sources explain, aims to further strengthen bilateral relations that have never been as close as today, especially in the field of defense.

18:42 17 May

Giorgia Meloni and Rishi Sunak the two prime ministers debuting at the G7 in Japan

Giorgia Meloni and Rishi Sunak, both prime ministers since last October, are the two newcomers to the summit of G7 leaders to be held from 19 to 21 May in Hiroshima, Japan. The dean of summits of the Group of seven most industrialized countries in the world is Justin Trudeau: the Canadian prime minister, in office since the end of 2015, has participated in seven summits (in 2020, due to the pandemic, the summit was not held).

It is followed by the President French Emmanuel Macron, in office since 2017, the Presidents of the European Commission and Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, in office since the end of 2019. At the third summit the American President Joe Biden, at the second the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the host, the Japanese Fumio Kishida. Which at the end of the year will leave the presidency to Italy.

09:38 17 May

G7, the themes and priorities of the summit

The Japanese Presidency has set two perspectives at the heart of the agenda: strengthening the international order on the basis of the rule of law, particularly in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which also has an impact on the Indo-Pacific in relation to tensions around Taiwan; a strengthening of the so-called "Global South" with a commitment by the G7 countries to manage the concerns of these countries also exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the food crisis.

The G7 - in the perspective set by Tokyo - must continue to strongly promote the policy of sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine. In addition, the rotating presidency wants the G7 to reaffirm and strengthen its cooperation around the notion of a "free and open Indo-Pacific", formulated by Kishida himself, also in light of China's assertive policy in the region and Beijing's growing pressure on Taiwan. Among the priorities of the presidency is also that of sending the G7 a strong message to take steps towards a future without nuclear weapons, without launching unrealistic but realistic and concrete proposals, also by virtue of the fact that the possibility of the use of tactical nuclear weapons was raised by Russia during the conflict in Ukraine.

The same logo of the event represents seven sheets of origami paper of different colors, which want to symbolize the theme of solidarity and peace. Cranes made with the origami technique are one of the most moving symbols of the rejection of nuclear weapons by the martyred city.

On the economic front, the G7 will have to work to address issues such as the security of supply chains, such as non-market policies and economic coercion. Other issues that will be addressed will be climate and energy transition, bearing in mind that the goal of zero emissions by 2050 set by the Paris Agreement remains unchanged; food security, further endangered by the war in Ukraine; health, in light of the lessons learned with Covid-19; sustainable development in the framework of the 2030 Agenda; gender equality, human rights, digitalisation and science and technology.