Tokyo, Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)–Visiting Italian Minister for Disabilities Alessandra Locatelli has called on the Group of Seven major democracies to prioritize addressing problems that people with disabilities face in emergencies such as natural disasters and armed conflicts. In an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday, Locatelli also said that the G7 should promote the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence to achieve this aim. People with disabilities particularly face hardship as natural disasters and armed conflicts intensify around the world, Locatelli said, expressing her willingness to strengthen cooperation among G7 members to develop guidelines and take measures to help such people. She emphasized the need to accelerate efforts to improve support for people with disabilities through the use of AI, which is expected to help reduce their daily hardship, saying that this is not an issue for the future but for the present. The G7 has discussed a wide range of issues, primarily economic matters, since the 1970s, but no ministerial meeting dedicated specifically to people with disabilities took place until 2024, when Italy held the G7 presidency. Locatelli, who spearheaded the first meeting, described it as an important milestone that allowed G7 ministers to meet in person and reaffirm their shared principles on the issue. At the 2024 meeting, the G7 countries adopted the Solfagnano Charter, which identifies eight priority areas such as promoting the social inclusion of people with disabilities. Locatelli expressed disappointment with the lack of progress among G7 members since then and pledged to continue urging them to implement the charter consistently. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
