Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni greets Pope Francis as he arrives at the G7 Leaders' Summit on the second day of the 50th G7 Summit in Borgo Egnazia on June 14, 2024 in Fasano, Italy.
Vatican Assembly | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Pope Francis made a historic appearance at the G7 summit on Friday to talk about the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, while G7 leaders also pledged to tackle what they said were harmful trade practices by China.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, host of the summit, invited the Pope and other heads of state and government, including the Prime Minister of India and the King of Jordan, in an attempt to show that the G7 is not an isolated and exclusive club.
“We will never accept the narrative that wants the West to be against the rest,” Meloni told the meeting on Friday.
The pope, who arrived in a wheelchair and was warmly received by leaders including US President Joe Biden and Argentine President Javier Miley, acknowledged the ambivalence surrounding artificial intelligence, saying it could inspire excitement and expand access to knowledge.
“But at the same time, it could bring with it greater injustice between developed and developing countries or between dominant and oppressed social classes,” the 87-year-old said.
The G7's core members – the United States, Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and Canada – have previously focused on China's economic influence and what they see as unbalanced markets in areas such as electric cars, steel and renewable energy.
The summit statement, issued on Friday evening, stressed that the G7 is not trying to harm China or thwart its economic development but “will continue to take measures to protect our businesses from unfair practices, to level the playing field and address ongoing harm.”
The G7 also warned against taking action against Chinese financial institutions that helped Russia obtain weapons needed for its war against Ukraine.
Washington this week imposed new sanctions on China-based companies supplying semiconductors to Russia amid concerns about Beijing's increasingly aggressive stance against Taiwan and disputes with the Philippines over rival maritime claims.
Immigration coalition
The leaders also discussed migration, a crucial issue for Meloni, who has been pressing Europe to help curb illegal flows from Africa and which has launched a major plan to boost development on the continent to address the root cause of departures.
They agreed to launch a coalition to eradicate human smuggling, with greater cooperation in investigations into trafficking networks and confiscation of their assets.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Illegal immigration is now a global emergency.” He added, “We all agree that sovereign states control their borders, not criminal gangs.”
Sunak said this was the first time the G7 summit had discussed immigration, hailing it as a sign of progress.
“Obviously these things don't happen overnight,” he said. (But) the conversation… was very productive, so I'm confident it will make a difference.”
During the first day of their meeting in southern Italy, G7 countries agreed to a preliminary agreement to provide $50 billion in loans to Ukraine backed by interest on frozen Russian assets – hailing the agreement as a strong signal of Western resolve.
Pope Francis and world leaders during a working session on artificial intelligence, energy, Africa and the Mediterranean on the second day of the 50th G7 Summit in Borgo Egnazia on June 14, 2024 in Fasano, Italy.
Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
In the summit statement, G7 leaders said they wanted to inflict more costs on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and also promised to impose sanctions on entities that helped Russia circumvent restrictions on oil trade by fraudulently transporting it.
However, Meloni, who heads a right-wing government, ran into choppy waters over dealing with sensitive social issues in the statement summarizing the G7's work.
The G7 leaders did not directly refer to abortion in their final statement, with Italy refusing to bow to French pressure to include the word. The draft also sparked accusations of watered-down support for gay rights compared to the statement issued at the previous leaders' meeting in Japan.
Italy said it was just a diplomatic storm in a teacup, and said the G7 had not changed its position on either issue.
Several leaders, including Biden, were scheduled to leave Italy late Friday. On Saturday, there will be room for bilateral meetings for those staying, before Meloni's final press conference.
