Africa, Middle East crises high on agenda at G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy

As foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies have gathered on the Italian island of Capri, Middle Eastern and African issues are also high on the agenda during the three days of talks.

The continuing escalation of tensions in the Middle East — between Israel and Iran, the war in Gaza, and the attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea — is dominating the three days of talks of the foreign ministers from the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani, who is chairing the G7 meeting, said that “in an international scenario characterized by extremely high tensions, the Italian-led G-7 has the task of working for peace” and added that Rome is “engaged in an all-round effort to achieve this goal.”

Meanwhile, Mauritania’s foreign minister Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug has held a session at the G7 foreign ministers aimed at strengthening the G-7 partnership with the African Union (AU), a matter that Rome has been discussing in depth with Washington.

As EU leaders discuss stepping up sanctions against Iran, the AU’s position has been unclear regarding the debate on whether Israel should retaliate, de-escalate or if Iran was wrong or right in launching its unprecedented missiles attack on Israel last week in response to a deadly strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate widely blamed on Israel. But the AU, by and large, does not support the use of sanctions, according to experts, who note that the bloc has always spoken about the need to lift sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, Cuba, and other countries by the West.