- Italy is planning to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).It will become the first member of the G7 group countries to officially endorse Belt and Road Initiative despite objections from the United States.
- It is said that Italy is facing difficulties in balancing its growth targets with the EU’s stringent fiscal norms.These tensions surfaced in recent negotiations with European Union that led to a revised Italian budget.So,Italy is counting on its BRI endorsement to boost investments, given recent reductions in Chinese outflows into the EU.
- In 2018,European countries had declined to sign a joint declaration on the “Belt and Road” at a forum held in Beijing.They had said that it lacked standards on financing and transparency.
- China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an ambitious programme to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks along six corridors with the aim of improving (a)regional integration, (b)increasing trade and (c)stimulating economic growth.
- The Group of Seven (G7) is a group consisting of (a)Canada (b)France, (c)Germany (d)Italy (d)Japan (e)United Kingdom and (f)United States. The European Union is also represented within the G7.These countries are the seven major advanced economies as reported by the International Monetary Fund.
