Ottawa, June 16 (IANS) Several world leaders have gathered at the Canadian Rockies for the Group of Seven (G7) Summit being held amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The G7 leaders conducted a 90-minute session in Canada’s Kananaskis to discuss the global economic outlook, and a working lunch focused on energy security with invited leaders.
The leaders had unveiled its slimmed-down agenda on Sunday, prioritising discussions on the global economy and energy security.
The G7 is an informal bloc comprising seven of the world’s advanced economies — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States — along with the European Union.
The annual Summit serves as a platform to coordinate responses to major global economic and geopolitical challenges.
The G7 leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Australian PM Anthony Albanese, Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba, British PM Keir Starmer and several others, have arrived in the city for the two-day summit.
Meanwhile, President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday reaffirmed France and the European Union’s support for Greenland’s autonomy and Denmark’s sovereignty ahead of the key Summit. He criticised the US for its repeated assertions about acquiring Greenland, calling such statements “wrong”.
“It is wrong when the United States keeps expressing a wish to take over Greenland,” Macron said during a joint press conference in Nuuk with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland PM Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
He underscored that “Greenland cannot be bought or taken,” directly rebuking past comments made by the US President amid renewed geopolitical interest in the Arctic.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, on the sidelines of the Summit, interacting on the recent developments in the Middle East and the conflict in Ukraine.
“During the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, I met with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Friedrich Merz. During the meeting, we confirmed our common will to convene a new edition of the Intergovernmental Summit between Italy and Germany in Rome at the beginning of 2026 and to maintain close coordination on important issues of the EU agenda, such as the fight against irregular immigration and competitiveness. We also exchanged views on the latest developments in the Middle East and the conflict in Ukraine,” Meloni posted on X on Monday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also held a meeting with Meloni on Sunday evening.
“Discussing the situation in the Middle East, the Prime Minister urged restraint and de-escalation. The leaders agreed that the devastating human toll as well as the potential global economic impact caused by rising global oil prices cannot be underestimated,” read a statement issued by the British Prime Minister’s office.
“They added that this Summit comes at a vitally important moment for the world, and that G7 partners must find a way forward through diplomacy. They reiterated their enduring support for Ukraine, agreeing that it is a topic of our common security that they looked forward to discussing in the next two days,” the statement added.
Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney, who is hosting this year’s summit, has extended invitations to leaders from several non-G7 countries, including Ukraine, Australia, India, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.
–IANS
int/scor/as