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Obama meets wit former Italian PM Renzi in Milan

Xinhua, May 8, 2017 Adjust font size:

Former U.S. president Barack Obama met privately with former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi in Milan on Monday.

The American leader was hailed by hundreds of locals and tourists in the northern Italian city, who reportedly waited hours to catch a glimpse of him outside the Hyatt Hotel where he was staying.

"Glad to have seen a friend and a great leader, Barack Obama, in Milan," Renzi wrote on Facebook after the two met in a closed-door meeting that reportedly lasted about two hours.

"He was in great shape: he still has a lot to say and to give to global politics," wrote Renzi, who is set to contend for the premiership on a pro-EU, anti-austerity platform in the next general election in early 2018 after his recent reappointment as leader of Italy's ruling center-left Democratic Party (PD).

The two former heads of government greeted each other with affection and took off their jackets for what was described as a wide-ranging talk on Europe and the international situation, PD sources told Italian news agency Ansa.

The two politicians also telephoned French president-elect Emmanuel Macron to congratulate him together, Ansa reported.

Both Obama and Renzi publicly declared their support for Macron, a pro-EU independent, before the runoff vote that swept him to power on Sunday, defeating far-right, anti-immigrant and euroskeptic leader Marine Le Pen.

The two leaders then left together to attend a dinner at the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), an Italian think tank.

Before meeting with Renzi, Obama visited the city's Pinacoteca Ambrosiana gallery, which houses masterpieces by Renaissance artists such as Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael, and the city's Gothic cathedral or Duomo.

Obama is in Milan for two days. On Tuesday, he is expected to receive the keys to the city from Mayor Giuseppe Sala, also from Renzi's PD, before delivering the keynote speech at a global food innovation conference called Seeds & Chips. Enditem