The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, proposed during a meeting at the White House with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, the creation of a global coalition against human traffickers.
Biden received the head of the Italian Government in the Oval Office by briefly singing the song “Georgia On My Mind” by Ray Charles, as a friendly gesture between the two.
At the beginning of the meeting, Meloni made reference to the European migration crisis and highlighted the need to “support the development of Africa” to address the root causes that push thousands of people to leave their homes.
But he also called to combat human trafficking, which in his opinion has become “the most profitable criminal financial activity worldwide.”
“We cannot accept it. Not anymore. That is why I came here today with a proposal to launch a global alliance against human trafficking,” she stressed.
Harmony between Biden and Meloni
Meloni made these comments a day after Biden and his main rival, former President Donald Trump, separately visited the border with Mexico, given that the immigration issue will also be a central issue in the US elections next November.
During the meeting, Biden and Meloni also demonstrated harmony regarding support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion and in sending humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
(Photograph provided by the Press Office of the Chigi Palace (Palazzo Chigi) of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni (i), and the US President, Joe Biden. Attili/Chigi Palace Press Office)
After the meeting, Meloni went to the airport without addressing the press to travel to Canada, where he will meet with the country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau.
This tour takes place the year in which Italy assumed the annual presidency of the G7, which brings together the large advanced economies, and shortly before the NATO Summit in July in Washington.
During Meloni’s mandate, Italy has distanced itself from China, a trade rival of the United States, after having been the only member of the G7 that was part of the Belt and Road Initiative, promoted by Beijing.
Meloni visited Biden at the White House last summer in what was the Italian Prime Minister’s first official visit to the White House.
BY: Nadeem Faisal Baiga
