Meloni has met Trump twice since his re-election.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni is to attend Donald Trump's inauguration as US president in Washington on 20 January, her office confirmed on Saturday.

Meloni is set to be joined at Trump's swearing-in ceremony by a delegation from her right-wing Fratelli d'Italia party, according to La Repubblica newspaper.

La Repubblica also suggests that the premier's last-minute decision to accept the invitation to Washington may have been linked to the indictment of tourism minister Daniela Santanchè in a trial over alleged fraud.

Meloni and Trump are on good terms and the two leaders have met twice since Trump's re-election in November.

During a recent press conference in Rome, Meloni stressed her "very solid" relationship with the US President-elect and said she would "happily go" to his inauguration if she could fit it into her schedule.

Meloni is also on friendly terms with tech billionaire Elon Musk, the future co-head of a new government efficiency department in the Trump administration.

Earlier this month Meloni made a surprise flying visit to Florida to meet Trump who hailed her as “a fantastic woman" who has "really taken Europe by storm.”

Following a meeting in Paris in December for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, Trump described Meloni as “a real live-wire”.

Photo: Marco Iacobucci Epp / Shutterstock.com.