Italy is “at the forefront” in the fight against hunger and poverty, which must be fought by thinking “outside the box” and without imposing “pre-established” models. Giorgia Meloni placed Rome in a “convinced” way alongside Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
A challenge “among the most ambitious” that must certainly be tackled, the Prime Minister reiterated, without resorting to synthetic foods that would only widen the gap between rich and poor countries, between the North and South of the world which, on the contrary , have “interconnected” destinies and must maintain the thread of “dialogue”.
For Meloni, the G20 in Rio is the ideal continuation of the G7 in Puglia, especially in the attempt to open up to this global South with which it is necessary to avoid – according to the Italian delegation’s reasoning – splits, especially at such a delicate moment for the geopolitical balances.
Before the leaders, the prime minister claimed “cooperation” between the two international formats as a “decisive” tool to face common problems, starting with hunger and poverty that worsen when “crisis scenarios multiply”, as happened with the Russian aggression in Kiev, when wheat became an “instrument of war”, and as is happening in the Middle East, where Italy launched the Food for Gaza initiative, precisely to support the Palestinian population with “47 tons of basic necessities “.
The first day of the summit was also an opportunity for Meloni to hold some official bilateral meetings, as well as a series of informal contacts (“she is talking to everyone,” her delegation said) while negotiations on the final declaration have not yet been concluded.
With one eye on the results of the regional elections in Italy and the other on the evolution of the negotiations for the new European Commission, – where not only Raffaele Fitto but also the Spanish Teresa Ribera are at stake – Meloni is focused in particular on Africa and the Mattei Plan , which wants it to be a “pillar” of its foreign policy.
Meloni asked Justin Trudeau not to forget the African continent among the G7 priorities in the next Canadian presidency, in an ideal passing of the baton. She also discussed recent developments with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with whom she is organizing a business forum between Italian and UAE companies active in African countries.
And if with Canadian Prime Minister Meloni she made a point of discussing the Action Plan for reinforced cooperation, signed in Borgo Egnazia and already active on the Artificial Intelligence, space and critical materials front, the head of government signed another, with her Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.
The agreement already existed, but the last details needed to be finalized for an action plan that aims to reinforce “360-degree” collaboration in several areas, including economic, scientific, AI, culture and tourism. .
