President Ruto attends G7 summit in Italy

President William Ruto has joined other world leaders at the Group of Seven (G7) summit of the world's biggest economies in Italy.

A provisional programme shows that President Ruto will be with his counterparts from the continent, including Tunisia's Kaïs Saïed, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who is the current chair of the African Union, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina.

Each of these leaders has some concerns about the policies the G7 might take, including debt, illegal migration, economic hardship and climate change.

The G7 summit bkicked off on Thursday and brings together G7 members including Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States (US) as well as hosts Italy.

President Ruto's appearance will be his first, in line with previous G7 decisions where representatives from a range of states and international organisations are invited by the nation holding the G7 presidency.

While announcing the trip, State House spokesman Hussein Mohamed said:  "President Ruto will speak on African leaders' commitment to promoting a prosperous world through a fairer international financial system, a more representative and effective multilateral system, and the critical importance of addressing global challenges together."

The summit marks the 50th meeting of the G7.

The President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, representing the European Union (EU), will also attend the three-day meeting.

On Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni outlined the agenda, saying they will tackle a wide range of issues, including the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the creation of "solid and controllable supply chains", and the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI).

The meeting will also focus on Africa and migration. At the start of the annual meeting, she chaired a roundtable discussion on critical issues affecting the global community.

"There is a lot of work to be done, but I am sure that in these two days (13-14 June) we will be able to have discussions that will lead to concrete and measurable results," Ms Meloni told her G7 guests at the start of the summit.

The leaders are said to have unanimously shared their concern about China's industrial expansion, which they said was distorting global markets, and their determination to help African states develop their economies.

On African issues, Italy in particular will seek to promote and reinforce long-standing concerns about uncontrolled migration from the continent to Europe and perennial issues such as climate change, as well as China's growing influence on the continent.

Others include Argentina's President Javier Milei, Mohamed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva, President (G20 Presidency), Holy See - Pope Francis, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Secretary General and President of the World Bank Ajay Banga.

In an effort to shake off the exclusive label of the rich West, Italy has invited more than ten other countries to join the club. Kenya falls into this category.

Ms Meloni said the G7 was "not a fortress closed in on itself" but rather "an offer of values that we open to the world" in an attempt to shake off the Western tag.

Africa and the Mediterranean - two key national security issues - will feature prominently at the summit.

Following her recent victory, Ms Meloni is expected to use the platform to outline her flagship foreign policy, the so-called Mattei Plan, which seeks to position Italy as a major energy hub between Europe and the African continent in order to boost growth in Africa and, in turn, curb immigration to Europe.

Pope Francis will attend the event for the first time.

The pontiff has been invited to the summit and will hold bilateral talks with leaders on a wide range of issues.

Outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta addressed the summit twice during his tenure, first in 2017 in Taormina, Sicily, Italy, and again in 2018 in La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada.

The 2018 meeting focused on economic growth, climate change, security, the blue economy and environmental management.

President Kenyatta was invited by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when the two leaders met at Lancaster House, London, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the UK capital in April 2018.

Mr Kenyatta then took the opportunity to urge G7 nations to support the protection of oceans and seas by partnering with Kenya to host the first-ever high-level conference on the Blue Economy at the 44th Summit in November.

This is the third time Kenya has attended the G7 summit.

President Ruto left for the event on Thursday. He is expected to address the group on issues facing the continent and Kenya in particular.

He is also expected to hold sideline talks, particularly with the Italian leadership, on the fate of the multi-billion Arror Kimwarer multipurpose dams, the Itare dam and other stalled projects.