Albanian PM Edi Rama kneels to welcome Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni | Watch

When Meloni arrived, he knelt playfully to the ground -- as he often does for his Italian "sister" -- while making a point of escorting

Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, who hosted Europe's leaders on Friday, caught everyone's attention when he knelt to greet Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and hugged France's Emmanuel Macron in a bro hug.

When Giorgia Meloni arrived, Edi Rama knelt playfully to the ground – as he often does for his Italian "sister" -- while making a point of escorting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the opera building where the leaders were holding talks as reported by news agency AFP.

Giorgia Meloni truly commands the utmost respect of world leaders. This is quite the sight to see. pic.twitter.com/xBp3d0Qi7j
Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) May 16, 2025

The Albanian Prime Minister welcomed over 40 leaders attending the European Political Community (EPC) summit, greeting each with a warm smile and a few words. Fresh from securing a fourth term at the weekend -- after campaigning on a pledge to take Albania into the EU by 2030 -- Rama made plain his delight in welcoming counterparts from the bloc and beyond, as he basked in his resounding reelection win.

Meanwhile, European leaders descend on Albania on Friday for a meeting sure to be dominated by the war in Ukraine, but small Balkan countries hope talk of EU enlargement will also feature at the European Political Community Summit.

The event, including the leaders of France, Germany and Britain, takes place as Ukraine and Russia are set to hold their first peace talks since the early days of the conflict. Other topics will include security, democracy and migration.

But it is also a pivotal time for Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries with 2.4 million people which is still trying to shrug off the lingering impact of decades of stifling communist rule and join the European Union, as reported by Reuters.

The country is bracing for Friday's influx. Flights from Tirana's small airport, which is undergoing a revamp amid a burgeoning tourist boom, may be disrupted by the extra air traffic, the airport said in a post on Instagram.

*With Agency Inputs