Ukraine can count on us

Italian Foreign Minister on his country's main priorities during the G7 presidency

New conflicts and global threats have endangered the rules-based international order built after the Second World War. 

In 2024, Italy has the honour to chair the G7, a group organized around shared values of democracy, pluralism and respect of human rights. Also as a founding member of the European Union and the seventh biggest contributor to the UN regular and peacekeeping budgets, we will further enhance this invaluable coordination platform to ensure cohesive and sustainable responses to the challenges of our time and to maximize outreach towards other international actors.

The Italian Presidency will prioritise, first and foremost, respect for the rules-based international order, grounded on the UN Charter, which has been profoundly shaken by the Russian aggression against Ukraine.  

Indeed, the situation in Ukraine will remain at the top of G7 priorities. The Russian Federation's brutal attack is not just a regional issue but a threat to international peace and security. It affects us all. The whole world is affected by this blatant violation of international law. 

Ukraine can count on us and on our commitment towards a just and lasting peace, as well as on our support in further developing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula. The symbol of our Presidency is the olive tree, a universal sign of peace. 

Under our Presidency, the G7 will reaffirm its unwavering support to Kyiv, in political, security and financial terms. We shall also focus on reconstruction, paving the way towards the Ukraine recovery conference that Italy will host in 2025, following the Conference for the Reconstruction of Ukraine that we hosted in 2023 in Rome. 

In 2024, the Embassy of Italy in Kyiv is also responsible for coordinating and steering the G7 Ambassadors’ Support Group in Ukraine. The Group will renew its full support to the Ukrainian government and people in their domestic reform path, with particular reference to strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption, judicial reform, decentralisation, promotion of democracy and transition to a green economy. 

Thanks to the efforts already carried out, the European Council has decided to start negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, which Italy has strongly supported. This is only the first step, but along this path, Ukraine will have at its side the G7 in line with the values of the liberal democracies that we uphold. 

Besides the situation in the Mediterranean and the Middles East,  during our Presidency we will also focus  on the most pressing global challenges, like climate change, food and energy security, irregular migration and forced migration flows, and the opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence. We are facing a “new industrial revolution” which can offer enormous opportunities and contribute to the security and wellbeing of the planet, if appropriately managed, but we cannot ignore the equally significant risks of the digital transition. Without appropriate regulation, it might jeopardize the stability of democratic systems and of society itself and be detrimental to respect of  human rights and fundamental freedoms, through cyber threats, disinformation, and economic disruption. 

As G7 Presidency, we will coordinate efforts and cooperate in search of solutions. We count on the support of our partners and allies, like Ukraine, to succeed. 

Read this article in Ukrainian and russian.