Italy plans to involve the G5 and other important non-G8 countries from the second day of next year's Group of Eight summit, diplomatic sources confirmed Monday.
Reiterating plans announced by Premier Silvio Berlusconi earlier this month, the sources said the first day of talks on the Sardinian island of La Maddalena in July will involve only the eight G8 members, who will discuss the global credit crisis.
The G5 (China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa) as well as Egypt will be brought in on the second day, when the agenda will widen to include climate change, terrorism, the fight against poverty and energy security, according to sources.
Berlusconi said earlier this month that Italy has pressed hard for an Egyptian role because of Egypt's status in the Middle East and Africa where it is ''widely heard''.
The third day of talks will include representatives of the African Union, Indonesia and Australia.
Berlusconi has stressed that countries which ''have emerged and are no longer emerging'' will have a full say in sessions and will not be restricted to working lunches.
Flanking the main G8 talks will be a series of ministerial meetings in other Italian cities including a conference of environment ministers in Naples, according to sources.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini earlier this month announced a ''regional conference'' on the sidelines of the G8 summit which will focus on the stabilisation of Pakistan and Afghanistan and which will probably take place in Trieste.
Italy takes over the one-year rotating presidency of the G8 from January 1 and the next summit will be held on La Maddalena on July 8-10.
The G8 current members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
