President Sheikh Mohamed attends G7 summit in Italy

The Middle East, migration and AI are on the agenda in an enlarged summit format

President Sheikh Mohamed and Rishi Sunak, UK Prime Minister, at the G7 Italia 2024 summit, at Borgo Egnazia resort. Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE National Security Adviser, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad, Private Affairs Adviser in the Presidential Court, at the G7 Italia 2024 summit, at Borgo Egnazia resort. Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

President Sheikh Mohamed with William Ruto, President of Kenya, at the G7 Italia 2024 summit. Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

President Sheikh Mohamed arrives at Bari International Airport, in Italy, to attend the G7 summit. Photo: Abdulla Al Bedwawi / Presidential Court

Jordan's King Abdullah II is welcomed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, on the second day of the summit. EPA

Ms Meloni welcomes Pope Francis. EPA

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres meets Ms Meloni. Bloomberg

Ms Meloni and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Getty Images

President Sheikh Mohamed is received by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, after arriving at the summit venue, at Borgo Egnazia resort. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed, Mr Erdogan and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed, Mr Modi, Mr Da Silva and Mr Erdogan, speak on the sidelines of the summit. Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed, Mr Modi and Mr Erdogan, speak on the sidelines of the summit. Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed alongside, from right, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, Pope Francis, and President Emmanuel Macron of France, during the Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Africa-Mediterranean session at the summit. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed greets President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed with Mr Macron. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed greets Mr Guterres. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed told the summit that the world is facing numerous challenges with a particularly significant impact on the Middle East and Africa. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohamed greets Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

Leaders from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations said they will launch an action plan on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the workforce to help increase productivity, create 'quality jobs and decent work' and to empower workers. Photo: Ryan Carter / UAE Presidential Court

President Sheikh Mohamed attended a summit of G7 leaders on Friday to discuss artificial intelligence and energy.

He was invited by the host, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to an expanded gathering of the annual assembly of the heads of the world's largest developed economies.

Sheikh Mohamed, who was accompanied by a delegation of senior UAE officials, is taking part in the talks, which focus on strengthening efforts to promote international co-operation on leading global challenges.

Responding to Ms Meloni's opening remarks, Sheikh Mohamed noted the UAE supports a fair and balanced transition in the energy sector, stemming from the UAE Consensus forged at the Cop28 summit last year in Dubai. The UAE president observed there were numerous challenges with a particularly significant impact on the Middle East and Africa, especially in the energy sector.

Against a backdrop of rising global tension, leaders of the Group of Seven – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – have gathered at the southern Italian resort of Borgo Egnazia, Puglia.

The G7 released a communique that highlights the result of talks on migration, sanctions on Russia and Iran's nuclear programme. The second half of the summit has been reserved for discussions on the Indo-Pacific and economic security.

Pope Francis also made a historic appearance, becoming the first head of the Catholic Church to address a G7 summit. He discussed the impact of AI on humanity. Sheikh Mohamed emphasised the need for collective action and cooperation to leverage emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

The UAE was keen to establish an integrated system for artificial intelligence to offer sustainable solutions in the energy sector.

The G7 has taken an active stance on AI since it adopted guiding principles at its previous summit in Hiroshima, said Jessica Rapson, senior researcher at the G7 research group.

The G7 summit in Italy – in pictures

“A lot of this is a response to popular commercial advancements such as Chat GPT reaching public knowledge, and also the buzz around AI, even though a lot of these methods have existed for a few decades,” Ms Rapson told The National.

“The goal is to have broader consensus on how to manage dealing with potential challenges, especially with national security issues and the global supply chain.”

The EU, which attends G7 summits as an unofficial eighth member, earlier this year approved the world's first comprehensive rules to govern AI.

In addition to Sheikh Mohamed and Pope Francis, other leaders invited to attend included King Abdullah II of Jordan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“It's not certain whether you'd see any of these countries agreeing to anything concrete,” said Ms Rapson. “But we might definitely see more statements on AI safety, which is not binding.”

Also attending is UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, plus the heads of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.