ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has felicitated Emmanuel Macron over his re-election as President of France.
In a tweet on Monday, the prime minister said he looks forward to working together in building a stronger multifaceted Pakistan-France relationship.
“Felicitations to President Emmanuel Macron on re-election as President of the French Republic. I look forward to working together in building a stronger multifaceted Pakistan-France relationship,” he added.
Felicitations to President @EmmanuelMacron on re-election as President of the French Republic. I look forward to working together in building a stronger multifaceted Pakistan-France relationship.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) April 25, 2022
World leaders congratulate Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron defeated his far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Sunday by a comfortable margin, early projections by pollsters showed and securing a second term. The first projections showed Macron securing around 57-58% of the vote.
World leaders have rushed to congratulate French President Emmanuel Macron on his election victory. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Macron a message of congratulations, Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin as saying on Monday. “I sincerely wish you success in governance, firm health and well-being,” Putin said in a telegram, which the Kremlin posted on its official website.
Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated his French counterpart, saying he would “like to continue working with President Macron to maintain diplomatic relations based on independence, mutual understanding, foresight and mutual benefit,” according to a readout from state broadcaster.
European Council President Charles Michel, as well as the prime ministers of Belgium and Luxembourg, were among the first to congratulate Macron, followed by almost all of the bloc’s 27 leaders after his win.
“Bravo Emmanuel”, Michel wrote on Twitter in French. “In this turbulent period, we need a solid Europe and a France totally committed to a more sovereign and more strategic European Union.”
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Macron’s re-election was “wonderful news for all of Europe”, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said French voters “have sent a strong vote of confidence in Europe today”.
The leaders of Sweden, Romania, Lithuania, Finland, the Netherlands and Greece, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, all reacted within half an hour of the result with their congratulations.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson applauded the result, pledging cooperation with Macron and saying: “France is one of our closest and most important allies.”
United States President Joe Biden also hailed Macron’s victory. “France is our oldest ally and a key partner in addressing global challenges,” he said in a tweet. “I look forward to our continued close cooperation – including on supporting Ukraine, defending democracy, and countering climate change.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has spoken with Macron several times since Russia’s invasion of his country on February 24, congratulated his French counterpart by phone. Zelenskyy called Macron a “true friend of Ukraine”.
“I wish him further success for the sake of the [French] people. I appreciate his support and I am convinced that we are moving together towards new common victories,” he wrote in Ukrainian and French.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “looking forward to continuing our work together on the issues that matter most to people in Canada and France – from defending democracy, to fighting climate change, to creating good jobs and economic growth for the middle class”.
