U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and British Prime Minister Theresa May (R) attend the handover ceremony of the new NATO headquarters during a one-day NATO Summit, in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
Counter-terrorism cooperation is expected to be high on the agenda of a major Group of Seven (G7) summit, which will be held in Italian city of Taormina Friday and Saturday.
The heads of state and government of the G7, namely the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, will hold an official opening ceremony at the ancient Greek Theatre, one of Taormina's most impressive venues, on Friday, and will kick off their first session of work the afternoon.
According to the Italian G7 rotating presidency's official agenda, the summit was due to develop around "three fundamental pillars: citizen safety; economic, environmental, and social sustainability; and innovation and labor in the age of the next Production Revolution."
Indeed, security was already among the top priorities. Yet, in the aftermath of the terror attack occurred in Manchester on May 22, counter-terrorism and all other security-related topics were likely to overshadow any other issue.
"We are working to ensure the G7 in Taormina delivers the strongest possible message of an extraordinary and shared commitment to fighting terrorism," Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni confirmed soon after Manchester attack killed at least 22 people.
"We will have the opportunity to reaffirm, all together, that the cowardice that destroys young lives is not going to prevail over our freedom," Gentiloni added.
For leaders of the most industrialized countries, it will be their first chance to discuss the issue within the G7 framework since Donald Trump became U.S. president.
The 43rd G7 summit will also be the first one for newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May.
On Saturday, the second day of the meeting, the G7 will be joined by their counterparts from five African countries. Representatives from six African and international organizations, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the EU Council Donald Tusk will also attend the summit.
Despite urgency of the security and terrorism issues, however, the G7 leaders were also expected to tackle other topics in their talks, such as inclusive growth, sustainable development, and, on a lesser scale, climate change.
Europe's migration crisis was also due to be highlighted. The Italian government has purposely chosen the Sicilian island to host the summit, as the island has become a major point of arrivals for the large majority of migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
