HIROSHIMA, Japan - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called out the Italian government's stance on LGBTQ rights during a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the G7 Leaders' Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Trudeau told Meloni that “Canada is concerned about some of the some of the (positions) that Italy is taking in terms of LGBT rights.”

In March, gay rights activists denounced as homophobic moves by Meloni's far-right-led government to limit recognition of parental rights to the biological parent only in families with same-sex parents.

Trudeau met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida earlier in the morning, where both leaders discussed increasing co-operation between G7 countries to further peace and economic prosperity.

The G7 Leaders' Summit is taking place between Friday and Sunday.

The summit is expected to focus on geopolitical and economic threats from Russia and China.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2023.

- With files from The Associated Press.