Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Emirati President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan are among a group of Middle Eastern leaders invited to attend the Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Italy on Thursday, as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni seeks to boost Rome's relations with the Gulf states.

The G7 is an intergovernmental forum consisting of the following major economies: the United States, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. Italy will host the group’s annual summit at the luxurious Borgo Egnazia hotel in the country’s southeast.

Italy has invited more than a dozen countries and entities to participate in this year’s meeting, which runs from Thursday through Saturday. The following Middle Eastern and North African leaders will attend, according to the event website:

• UAE's President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
• Jordan’s King Abdullah II
• Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune
• Tunisian President Kais Saied

Saudi media outlets reported that the Saudi crown prince was invited and Reuters reported last week that he would attend, though he was not on the official list of attendees on the event website as of Wednesday. The kingdom said in a statement late Wednesday evening local time that the crown prince would not be at G7, citing his commitments to overseeing the Hajj pilgrimage. Crown Prince Mohammed sent an apology to Meloni for his absence, per the statement. His attendance would have been his first at a G7 meeting.