United States special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry gave foreign minister Luigi Di Maio an Italian-made tie at their meeting in Rome on Thursday while Di Maio gifted Kerry a signed book.
"One of our areas of excellence," Di Maio told Kerry upon receiving the tie.
Kerry was also due to meet ecological transition minister Roberto Cingolani and economic development minister Giancarlo Giorgetti on Thursday and to hold talks with premier Mario Draghi on Friday
Rome is Kerry's first stop on a week-long European tour to discuss climate change initiatives with Italian, UK and German officials and business people ahead of UN's crucial COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow in November.
Italy will host a warm-up summit for COP26 and will host the Group of Twenty Conference on Climate in July as part of Italy's G20 presidency.
