Italian PM Giorgia Meloni met President-elect Trump in Florida to strengthen ties, discussing global issues ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni traveled to Florida on Saturday to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, seeking to strengthen ties with the incoming U.S. leader ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
Her visit comes shortly before she is scheduled to meet U.S. President Joe Biden during his trip to Rome from Thursday to January 12.
While specific details of the meeting were not disclosed, Italian media reported that Meloni intended to discuss topics such as conflict between Ukraine and Russia , trade relations, Middle East issues, and the detention of an Italian journalist in Tehran. Meloni’s office declined to comment on these reports.
As a conservative leader with a stable right-wing coalition in Italy, Meloni is seen as a potentially strong ally for Trump. She has also cultivated a close relationship with billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, a prominent Trump supporter who invested heavily in his campaign victory.
During a gathering at Mar-a-Lago, Trump described Meloni as “a fantastic woman” and praised her leadership, saying, “She’s really taken Europe by storm,” according to a media pool report. The two later watched a documentary challenging the investigations and legal actions against John Eastman, a former Trump attorney involved in attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
One pressing issue for Meloni is the recent detention of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran. Sala was arrested on December 19, just days after Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini was detained at Milan’s Malpensa airport on a U.S. warrant. Abedini is accused of supplying drone parts allegedly used in a 2023 attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan, a claim Iran denies.
On Friday, Iranian state media reported that Iran’s foreign ministry had summoned Italy’s ambassador in response to Abedini’s detention.
Meloni’s visit adds her to the list of foreign leaders who have met with Trump in Florida since his November 5 election victory, including Argentinian President Javier Milei, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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