On 1 January 2024, for the seventh time Italy took over the presidency of the G7, or Group of Seven, the intergovernmental organisation that brings together seven of the world's most advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (which participates as a non-enumerated member and can therefore neither chair nor host the Summits). Since its creation in 1975, the G7 has played a key role in defending freedom and democracy and managing global challenges.

The Italian Presidency will run until 31 December 2024 with lots of events - as outlined on the official website of the Italian G7 Presidency - to be held throughout Italy. The Summit of Heads of State and Government - the most important event of every G7 - will be held from 13 to 15 June in Apulia.

Logo

At the centre of the logo of the seventh Italian G7 Presidency is an olive tree, symbolic of the Italian and Mediterranean landscape and in particular that of Apulia, where the Leaders' Summit will be held. The olive tree has strong roots, a gnarled trunk, lush foliage and olives, reflective of Italy’s national identity and projection into the future. The tree is crossed by a blue wave which symbolises the Mediterranean and Italy's central position between the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. The seven olives on the tree represent the seven G7 Nations which work together on global challenges.

G7 Finance

The Finance Track includes several technical meetings coordinated by the Treasury Department and a number of higher-level meetings that will involve the Minister of Economy and Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Italy.

Two of these meetings will take place on the fringes of the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in Washington; two on the fringes of the G20 meetings in Brazil; and one in Italy, in Stresa, around the time of the June Summit of Heads of State and Government in Apulia.

The G7 Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' meeting will be held from 23 to 25 May in Stresa, Piedmont and involve a very busy agenda of appointments.

The meetings of the G7 Finance circuit are attended by the Finance Ministers and the Governors of the Central Banks of the G7 countries, the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the President of the Eurogroup, as well as the heads of the main international organisations and other Ministers representing countries invited because of their relevance to the topics on the agenda, for a total of around 25 international delegations.

The International Financial Relations Directorate is responsible for coordinating the G7 dossiers for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, closely cooperating with the Finance Department for dossiers on international taxation.