KUWAIT CITY: Inauguration ceremony of the scheduled G-7 Summit kicked off in the Sicilian city of Taormina on Friday with leaders of the powerful nations planning talks on crucial global issues.
Presidents and leaders of the United States, Italy, France, #Germany and Britain gathered for memorial photographs at the ancient Romanian theater, signaling start of the top-level gathering due to proceed till Saturday.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, in a televised statement, expressed hope that the natural beauty of surrounding locations would inspire the conferees to take effective decisions on the scheduled topics; namely sustainable economic growth, boosting innovation and craftsmanship.
The premier said he and his fellow conferees ‘will issue an important declaration on terrorism and security.’ The 43rd G-7 summit, chaired by Italy, is the first for British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron, the Italian Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump. The four new leaders, alongside with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the European Council Donald Tusk, will review the harmony of their common political and economic strategy.
The economic outlook of the old alliance and the relationship between the EU and the #UnitedStates have been shrouded in mystery since US President Donald Trump took office early this year.
The G-7 developed in 1975 from the then Group of Six (France, the former West Germany, Italy, Japan, the #UnitedKingdom and the United States) following the oil crisis that stemmed from the 1973 Middle East war. The French ex-president Valery Giscard d’Estaing invited #Canada to join the economic bloc in 1974 to discuss the oil crisis; Canada, the seventh member, attended the summit of the bloc for the first time in 1976 and since then the term G-7 has been used.
