Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently visited the Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, where she met with the U.S. President-elect, Donald Trump.
Also present at the meeting were the nominees for Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Senator Marco Rubio and Republican Mike Waltz.
President-elect Trump described Meloni as a “fantastic woman.”
“This is very exciting. I’m here with a fantastic woman, the Prime Minister of Italy. She’s really ‘conquered’ Europe with her popularity,” he said.
No details have been provided regarding the discussions at the meeting, although it appears that the Italian leader, like other global leaders, is looking to strengthen relations with Trump ahead of his inauguration on January 20.
One possible topic of discussion, according to CNN, could have been the recent detention of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested in Iran last month.
Meloni is also set to meet with President Joe Biden during his upcoming trip to Rome this week, where the outgoing president is expected to thank the Italian Prime Minister for her strong leadership of the G7 last year and discuss important global challenges with her.
Her visit to Florida comes after a dinner with Trump and Elon Musk during the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris last month, an experience that Trump later described as positive in an interview with the New York Post.
Although Trump and Meloni share similar political views, they do not see eye to eye on global conflicts and wars. Meloni has been one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters, having met with President Volodymyr Zelensky several times since the start of the Russian invasion.
