By Alessandra Cardone
TAORMINA, Italy, May 25 (Xinhua) -- In the crowded newsrooms set up for a major Group of Seven (G7) summit, scheduled on Friday in Italian city of Taormina, common opinions are forming among media workers with more and more agreeing that security could overshadow other issues to be high on the agenda of the summit after Britain's Manchester bombing attack.
The summit attracts over 2,000 press workers, whoes interests and priorities should have varied based on the media outlets they serve. However, common opinions are forming on the eve of the summit.
"Given the challenge of terrorism, I think security will be an important issue, and high on the agenda," Davide Sarsini Novak, editor-in-chief with Italian news agency AGI, told Xinhua.
"It is likely the G7 leaders will be all impelled to try to cooperate more on security now, and this G7 can be a relevant opportunity -- after the NATO summit earlier this week -- to discuss the problem," he continued.
Sarsini said he was aware the British government was quite at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on intelligence sharing at the moment, after information on Manchester attack were believed to have been leaked from U.S. sources.
"I expect the British to ask all partners here to be more cautious, when they share intelligence," the chief editor explained.
"Yet, I also believe Taormina can be important for all leaders, because they can send the message that they are determined to do anything in their power to fight terrorism," said Sarsini.
As journalist and policy analyst with Britain-based Global Policy Journal, Dinora Kruja said security and counter-terrorism were probably the most important issues for British people right now.
"There is a lot of emotion in the aftermath of Manchester attack, of course, and, because of this, the problem of terrorism may overwrite certain other issues," she told Xinhua.
Yet, she also noted the need for global leaders to tackle security and counter-terrorism cooperation was strong even before Manchester, and this G7 summit would offer a good occasion to work on it.
"There is something very specific in this G7 in Taormina, due to the relevance for countries and various intelligence agencies to get together, share information, and fight together against terrorism," Kruja said.
However, security would partially assume a different meaning, taking the perspective of Japan.
Shinya Abe, London-based bureau chief of Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, told Xinhua that the next Group of Twenty (G20) summit was scheduled in Germany in July, and leaders from China, Russia, and other major countries would be attending. "In the perspective of that summit, the hope is that the G7 in Taormina will be united, and ready to act together to deter the nuclear proliferation threat," said the Japanese journalist.
This G7 was also the first one attended by Donald Trump, since he was elected president of the United States, which did not go unnoticed among reporters.
"From an Italian perspective, it is relevant," AGI's Sarsini confirmed. "This is the first summit in which Western leaders meet around the same table, and discuss an agenda that has been changed by president Trump's new administration."
"Therefore, it will be important to look at how the G7 will try to sort out all the differences now existing among them," he added.
This was an interesting aspect also for Japanese, according to the journalist from Tokyo Shimbun.
"Trade is another thing in which the Japanese public is very interested, and Taormina is Mr. Trump's debut on the international scene," Abe said. "What kind of message is he going to deliver from here? Would it be a stronger protectionist statement, or would the U.S. president soften his stand, and deliver a more helpful, cooperative message?"
