Next G-7 summit to be held in Sicily; will highlight refugee issues: Italian PM
(Mainichi Japan)
ROME -- Next year's Group of Seven (G-7) summit will take place in the southern Italian island of Sicily, Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced on May 25 via his homepage while en route to Japan for the Ise-Shima G-7 Summit.
Sicily is known as an "entrance" to Europe, due to the numerous refugees and migrants who stop on the island after having crossed the Mediterranean Sea from Libya.
Renzi also said that he planned to raise the refugee problem during the Ise-Shima G-7 Summit that began May 26 on behalf of the "voiceless" individuals who are risking their lives to try and reach Europe. He additionally noted that he planned to emphasize the importance of strategy-building in dealing with the African continent.
The number of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa is once again on the rise along the "Mediterranean route" across Libya and Italy. This follows the closure in spring of the Balkan Route, which involved journeying from Turkey to the Greek Islands, followed by subsequent northward travel across the Balkan Peninsula.
A wooden fishing boat crammed with refugees and migrants capsized off the Libyan coast, south of Sicily, on May 25, with the Reuters news agency reporting that at least five people died, while 562 more were rescued by the Italian navy.
