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Climate, trade, security, migration to figure in tough G7 summit
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SME Times News Bureau | 27 May, 2017
Officials expect tough talks at
the G7 summit in Sicily on Friday and Saturday between US President
Donald Trump and other leaders of the world's wealthiest nations on a
raft of issues from climate and trade to security, migration, North
Korea and Russia.
"We will demand results at the G7. It won't be
an easy meeting," said Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni ahead of the
summit. The Italian G7 presidency has made migration a priority for this
year's talks and is eager for rich nations to stem the influx by
boosting their aid to Africa's economic development.
The two-day
summit opened at the picturesque coastal resort of Taormina with a
ceremony at an ancient Greek theatre perched on a cliff overlooking the
sea, where warships patrolled Mediterranean amid a massive security
lockdown.
A day earlier, Trump slammed NATO allies in Brussels,
accusing them of "owing massive amounts of money" to the US - although
contributions to the military alliance are voluntary. He also deplored
German trade policies at a meeting with European Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker, saying Germany's export prowess was "bad", EU and
US officials confirmed on Friday.
"No doubt this will be the most
challenging G7 summit in years," European Council president Donald Tusk
said before the meeting opened. White House economic adviser Gary Cohn
told journalists travelling to Taormina aboard Air Force One that he
foresaw "robust" discussions on trade and climate at the summit.
Other
G7 leaders at the summit will be trying to convince Trump, who has
called human-made global warming a "hoax", not to pull his country out
of a landmark climate deal reached in Paris in 2015.
The G7
consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the US,
and the EU also has representatives. Russia was expelled from the group
in 2014 after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
Tusk said on Friday
he was less "optimistic" and "sentimental" on Russia than Trump, who
urged better ties with Moscow during his election campaign and whose
presidency has been clouded by investigations into his campaign's
contacts with Russian officials.
The G7 summit brings Trump's
first foreign trip as US president to a close. The four-nation tour
aimed at galvanising support for action against Islamist terrorism
included Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Italy,
Belgium and the Vatican.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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66.20
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64.50 |
UK Pound
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87.50
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84.65 |
Euro
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78.25
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75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
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Daily Poll |
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