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‘Ready to work together’: Italy’s Meloni boosts ties with Trump in surprise Florida visit
Italian PM was latest in a string of world leaders who have visited Trump in the run-up to his inauguration as US president
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday she was ready to work with Donald Trump after making a surprise visit to Florida to meet the president-elect before his inauguration on January 20.
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Meloni, who has led a right-wing coalition in Italy since October 2022, met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home late on Saturday in a trip that had not been announced in advance.
“Lovely evening with Donald Trump who I thank for the welcome,” Meloni posted on social media, with a picture of her and Trump.
“Ready to work together,” she added, alongside the Italian and US flags.
No details of the talks were released, but Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said they covered issues including the plight of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist detained last month in Iran.
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“Well done Giorgia Meloni for visiting Donald Trump to talk about peace, industrial and commercial cooperation, security, and the freeing of Cecilia Sala,” Salvini posted on social media.
Meloni was greeted with applause after an introduction by the president-elect, according to videos shared on social media by reporters and others.
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