Meloni's Italy hoping for closer US ties

Italy's far-right government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni could enjoy a closer relationship with the United States after Donald Trump moves into the White House.

Trump, who shares political ground with Meloni, welcomed the Italian leader to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday and told reporters about his admiration for her.

"This is very exciting," he said. "I'm here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy. She's really taken Europe by storm, and everyone else, and we're just having dinner tonight."

The pair watched a documentary about the challenges conservative lawyers have faced within the legal system and were joined by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who Trump has picked to be his secretary of state, Florida Representative Mike Waltz, who will serve as his national security adviser, and Scott Bessent, who will lead the Treasury Department.

Rubio described Meloni as a "great ally, strong leader".

The Bloomberg news agency said Trump and Meloni were thought to have spoken about issues including proposed US tariffs on imports, and the arrest in Iran of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was detained after Italy apprehended Swiss-Iranian national Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi at Milan's Malpensa airport, following a request from the US.

Najafabadi is suspected by the US of involvement in a drone attack in Jordan last year that killed three US servicemen.

Italian media said Meloni also intended to discuss the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The German news agency Deutsche Welle said Meloni is also known to be close to technology billionaire Elon Musk, who is set to become an adviser to Trump during his second term as president, and Meloni will be able to liaise between Trump and the European Union, thanks to a shared ideology that includes a security-?rst approach to issues such as immigration.

Meloni's surprise visit preceded a planned trip to Italy by Joe Biden, the outgoing US president, who heads to Rome on Jan 9 in what could be his last overseas engagement.