Foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Wednesday chaired the first meeting G7 trade ministers' meeting during Italy's presidency of the group this year and the Ukraine and Gaza crises and Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping were high on the agenda.
The G7 ministers looked at the impact of current international geopolitical tensions "on international trade, with effects on supplies energy, components and mineral resources, as well as food security, particularly in Africa," said a foreign ministry statement.
Tajani chaired the meeting via videoconference aided by foreign underscretary Maria Tripodi, according to the statement.
At the meeting, ministers confirmed their commitment to ensuring international trade "is as resilient as possible" to the current wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas and focussed on the wider ramifications of these conflicts, said the statement.
“Italy, with its over four million small and medium-sized businesses, and exports that contribute almost 40% to national ecoomic output (GDP), is at the forefront of these issues," the statement cited Tajani as telling the meeting.
"We must enable our companies to compete on an equal footing, in every situation, with those of other countries", said Tajani.
"Many" issues were addressed at Wednesday's meeting, from industrial subsidies to e-commerce, Tajani added.
The meeting allowed for coordination ahead of the 13th World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi later this month, the statement noted.
The aim of the conference is "to counter distortions in international trade caused by governments’ intervention in the economy" and to promote more sustainable and fairer trade," the statement said.
"These topics will be discussed in depth during the second G7 trade ministers’ meeting (to be chaired by Tajani) in Reggio Calabria in July," the statement concluded.
