A formal handshake and official photo just wasn’t enough.

As Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, strode down the red carpet laid out for leaders arriving in Tirana for the European Political Community Summit on Friday, Edi Rama, the Albanian prime minister, cast aside his umbrella and knelt down on one knee in the rain, his hands held in prayer position.

“Edi, no” Meloni said, smiling, as she approached him.

“He only does this to be as tall as me,” she then joked in English to the gathered journalists as he stood and they embraced.

Mr Rama, who is 6 foot 7 inches, towers over Ms Meloni, who at 5 foot 3 inches is one of the most petite European leaders. 

But they are not only different in physical stature.

He is leader of the socialist party of Albania, while she is on the conservative Right end of Europe’s political spectrum, yet there is apparent synergy.