Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump on Thursday during a White House meeting, in a bid to influence his efforts to shape her country's political future, Reuters reports.

Machado, who described the meeting as "excellent," said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.

Though Machado gave Trump the gold medal that honorees receive with the prize, the honor remains hers; the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.

A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal.