Honourable Heads of State and Government,
Eminent guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In renewing my welcome to Taormina and to Italy, allow me to express my appreciation for the significant effort made by this forum in tackling the difficult challenges facing us through a patient and tenacious consensus-building process over the most complex issues.
The Countries convened here harbour the ambition to contribute to making decisions that might make the future of the world more positive because our people are increasingly aware of the indivisibility of the destiny of Humankind and also of the responsibility of sharing a platform of values that respect the dignity of every single individual.
This is the reason why we can speak, with good judgment, of "interdependence". An interdependence that not only stems from a new perception of the geographical dimension - which has grown smaller over the years thanks to the faster transport of goods and people - but also of the new communications society and of the "social media" - a new vocation, the fruit of the capacity of individuals and groups to contact each other, instantaneously and without any type of mediation. This confers to societies - including those which were most remote up to now - an opportunity of dynamism that was unknown up to a few years ago.
It spurs them towards a convergence that binds together humankind, both driving and restless, through continuously changing geometries, towards a globalization that on the one hand holds the promise of extraordinary benefits and, on the other, raises fear for the immediate costs to be borne.
Interdependence does not only prevalently bind together States, institutions and markets, but inter-relates single individuals, overcoming any previous meaning of border.
Moreover, transnational threats and challenges fuel the perception of the national States' progressive incapacity to adequately tackle them on their own.
This perception is one of the most characteristic features of the world in which we live, which is shaken and at times dominated by the thrust towards universalism, towards the "Earth as our Homeland", towards the common destiny of Humankind that eludes the traditional separation of borders between single Countries.
But what emerges is also a world which is often prey to a sense of dismay because of the crisis of traditional points of reference. This dismay fuels the temptation to return to a remote and far-gone past when States were the only bulwark against anything perceived as extraneous or foreign.
To the Humankind that growingly feels to be part of an indivisible destiny we must assure an increasingly better balance between local and global realities, a balance that might not sacrifice either of the two.
The G7 can tangibly contribute to achieve the common goals of the international community.
This meeting reveals to be more useful today, even more than in the past, as it is capable of quickly associating positions that can be different albeit complementary.
We increasingly need this mutual fulfilment, which is nurtured with the sensitivities of Europe, North America and Japan and that draws upon the experience of other areas that are crucial for the future of the Planet, such as Africa.
We are in time of urgency - of extreme urgency - in facing the challenges and threats that lie before us. This extreme urgency must guide the actions of the whole international community in providing concrete and sustainable solutions.
These are the ambitious answers that we owe to our citizens in the face of terrorism and the threat to their security; the answers that we owe to those who are the victims of war and conflicts, of underdevelopment and of the consequences of climate change, and who set out every day in search of safety and of a better future. The answers that we owe to those whose condition is affected by the ongoing changes in industrial Countries in the wake of an ever-faster technological advancement, in which rights and opportunities are sometimes undermined.
It is the duty of the international community to govern these phenomena before their appearance might impose, because of their scale and their urgency, the adoption of short-term emergency solutions.
It is therefore essential to adopt a strategic approach in which everybody might feel - and be - fully involved.
The indications that can be given - in this sense - by the Heads of State and Government of the Countries invited to participate in the outreach session together with the Senior Officials of International Organisations present here today, will represent an essential contribution.
If the common goal is to govern reality - without being subjugated by it - it is necessary to listen, dialogue, negotiate, and build consensus.
History is continuously unfolding.
You can contribute by writing a page of history.
The contribution that each one of you can increasingly offer is priceless. We must all be fully aware of this responsibility.
With this idea in mind, I wish you all a fruitful debate and raise my glass in a toast to your personal wellbeing, to that of the people and organisations that you represent, and to the success of this meeting.
