Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday, as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with Trump before his inauguration later in January.
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Members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort welcomed Meloni with applause after an introduction by the US president-elect, according to videos shared on social media by reporters and others.
Her trip comes days before she is to meet US President Joe Biden during a visit to Rome from Thursday to January 12.
While no details of their meeting have been disclosed, Meloni had planned to talk to Trump about Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade issues, the Middle East, and the plight of an Italian journalist detained in Tehran, according to Italian media reports.
Meloni’s office declined to comment on the reports.
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She is seen as a potentially strong partner for Trump given her conservative credentials and the stability of the right-wing coalition she heads in Italy. She has also forged a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help him win the election.