Osinbajo, Kenyatta, Others Meet Trump at G7 Summit

The Group of Seven wealth nations (G7) in the world met on the Italian island of Sicily to discuss issues of interest but hosts Italy had hoped to make the continent the main focus of the meeting.

The meeting was based on illegal migration adventures especially through the Mediterranean mostly some of West and East Africa people embark on the perilous journey to Europe in search of greener pastures.

Who were Africa’s representatives?

Southern and Central Africa seem to be the regions on the continent that were not represented at the meeting. Three West African leaders, one from North Africa and two from East Africa graced were part of the Africa-focused aspect of the meeting.

Aside individual leaders, the African Union Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat was also in attendance. The former Chadian Premier has recently held talks with the United Nations and European Union chiefs over closer cooperation between Africa and their respective bodies.

The African list was as follows:

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn

Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta

Tunisian President, Beji Caid Essebsi

Chadian President, Issoufou Mahamadou

Guinean President, Alpha Conde – who doubles as African Union chairman

Nigeria’s Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo

“Perhaps the choice (to be in) Taormina and Sicily says much about how important our relations are with Africa,” Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in opening remarks.

“Today our discussion on Africa will focus on the need for a partnership across all sectors … with innovation and development our core objective,” he said, speaking in Italian.

More than half a million have arrived in Italy since 2014, with 1,400 brought ashore by rescuers on Friday (May 26) alone.

However, Italian proposals to highlight the positive impact of migration and to promote a major initiative on food security were both shot down in pre-summit talks.

The leaders are expected to issue a vastly shorter communique than in previous years, with one European diplomat suggesting it might be just six pages long compared to 32 last year.

The G7 comprises leaders from Britain (Theresa May), Canada (Justin Trudeau), France (Emmanuel Macron), Germany (Angela Merkel), Italy (Paolo Gentiloni), Japan (Shinzo Abe) and the United States (Donald Trump).