Rishi Sunak greeted the Italian prime minister with a warm embrace at the welcome ceremony of the G7 summit.
Mr Sunak and Giorgia Meloni were pictured holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes in Bari on Thursday.
They were also seen affectionately holding each other’s shoulders as Mr Sunak leant towards Ms Meloni.
It comes as the British Prime Minister is set to announce an extra £250 million for Ukraine and urge world leaders to do “whatever it takes” to defeat Russia.
The three-day trip is a chance to amplify his prime ministerial credentials and divert attention from his decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early.
The two priorities at the summit will be to support Kyiv and to secure peace in the Middle East.
Mr Sunak will announce a package of up to £242 million funding for humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs in Ukraine.
He will also attempt to persuade leaders to leverage billions from immobilised Russian assets to support Ukraine.
Mr Sunak will say: “We must be decisive and creative in our efforts to support Ukraine and end Putin’s illegal war at this critical moment.
“The UK remains at the forefront of the international response, as we have been from the outset. We must move from ‘as long as it takes’ to ‘whatever it takes’ if we are to end this illegal war.
“From Ukraine to the Middle East, we will be discussing significant global threats at the summit. Such threats are why it is so vital to strengthen the UK’s national defence, through our commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030.”
Mr Sunak flew to southern Italy after his appearance in a TV election programme in Grimsby with Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader.
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