American President Joe Biden will travel to Italy in January to meet privately with Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and Pope Francisthe White House announced on Thursday. According to everything, this could be Biden’s last trip abroad before leaving the presidency, TASR reports, according to an AFP report.
The purpose of the visit that will take place from January 9 to 12, is to strengthen relations between the US and Italy and to thank Meloni for her “strong leadership of the G7 over the past year”, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre clarified in a statement.
Biden will also meet with the pope during his visit to Italy and “discuss support for peace efforts around the world,” a spokeswoman said. According to the White House the president spoke by phone with the Catholic Church’s top official on Thursday and thanked him for his “continued efforts to alleviate global suffering.”
The current US president is only the second Roman Catholic head of state in the country’s history. The first was John F. Kennedy, AP writes. The trip to Italy comes just days before Biden hands the presidency to Republican-elect Donald Trump. Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Meloni congratulated Trump after his victory in the November elections and highlighted the “unwavering” ties between the two countries, AFP recalls.
