Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni traveled to Florida on Saturday to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, aiming to strengthen relations with him ahead of his inauguration on January 20.

Upon her arrival at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, she received a warm welcome from attendees after being introduced by the president-elect, as seen in videos circulated on social media by various reporters.

This visit precedes her upcoming meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden during her trip to Rome, scheduled from Thursday to January 12. Trump, who won the November election against Biden, is preparing for his return to the White House.

While specifics of their discussion remain undisclosed, Italian media reports indicate that Meloni intended to address topics such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, trade relations, the situation in the Middle East, and the case of an Italian journalist imprisoned in Tehran. Meloni’s office has refrained from commenting on these reports.

Given her conservative background and the stability of her right-wing coalition in Italy, Meloni is viewed as a potentially valuable ally for Trump. She has also developed a close relationship with billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, a significant supporter of Trump who invested over $250 million to aid his election campaign.

“This is very exciting. I’m here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy,” Trump remarked to the Mar-a-Lago audience, according to a media pool report. “She’s really taken Europe by storm.” Following their remarks, Trump and Meloni participated in a screening of a documentary that examines the legal challenges faced by John Eastman, a former Trump attorney involved in efforts to contest the 2020 election results.

One of the significant challenges confronting Meloni is the detention of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran on December 19. Sala’s arrest occurred just three days after the apprehension of Mohammad Abedini, an Iranian businessman, at Milan’s Malpensa airport. He was taken into custody on a U.S. warrant for allegedly providing drone components that, according to Washington, were utilized in a 2023 attack that resulted in the deaths of three U.S. service members in Jordan. Iran has refuted any involvement in the incident.

On Friday, reports from Iranian state media indicated that Iran’s foreign ministry summoned Italy’s ambassador in response to Abedini’s detention. Meloni has recently joined a select group of foreign leaders who have met with Trump in Florida following the November 5 election, including Argentinian President Javier Milei, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.