Meeting of the G7 Rome Lyon Group (23 25 October 2024)

From 23 to 25 October, the second meeting of the G7 Rome-Lyon Group was held at the Scuola Superiore di Polizia (Police Academy) in Rome (the first had been held in April at the Foreign Ministry). The Group's mandate is to coordinate and strengthen the G7 countries' joint response in the fight against transnational organised crime and terrorism.

In general terms, the agenda focused on the priorities of the Italian Presidency's security programme, based on the indications of the Mirabella Eclano G7 Interior Ministers'Declaration (2-4 October).

The works were opened by the speeches of Prefect Annunziato Vardé, Director of the Office for the Coordination and Planning of Police Forces, and Minister Plenipotentiary Alessandro Azzoni, Deputy Director General for Political Affairs and Central Director for Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The meeting provided an opportunity for an in-depth analysis of the topics of the fight against terrorism and transnational organised crime, the fight against migrant smuggling and human trafficking. A specific focus was devoted to the fight against the threats posed by synthetic drugs such as Fentanyl, where Italy was among the first countries to adopt a prevention plan. The challenges of the digital domain were also discussed, from combating cybercrime to tracking illicit activities based on virtual assets, and the risks and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence.