PM ANWAR CONGRATULATES INDIA'S MODI ON ELECTION VICTORY

NEW DELHI, June 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his party's election victory.

"I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for winning a historic third consecutive term. The exercise of democracy in India is indeed a marvel," Anwar said in a social media post on Wednesday.

"Prime Minister Modi has overseen a historic reconfiguration of the Indian economy, one that promises a better life for India's citizenry as well as the region at large. I look forward to working closely with him as we forge a new era of relations between Malaysia and India," he added.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party in the lower house of parliament but fell short of the majority mark as the opposition made strong gains in the mammoth general election held in seven phases of polling between April 19 and June 1.

The BJP has 240 seats and needs its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners to cross the 272-mark for a majority in the Lok Sabha, which has 543 elected members.

A number of foreign leaders have congratulated Modi since the election results were announced on Tuesday.

"Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP, and BJP-led NDA on the third consecutive victory in India's parliamentary elections," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"I wish the people of India peace and prosperity, and I hope for continued cooperation between our countries. India and Ukraine share common values and a rich history. May our partnership continue to thrive, bringing progress and mutual understanding for our nations," he added.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidain in his congratulatory message expressed his wish that Modi would "exercise leadership for India's further development and stated that he would like to closely work with Prime Minister Modi towards realising a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific'," Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong described the NDA win as historic in a social media post.

"Look forward to working with you to deepen the Singapore-India partnership and to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year," he said.

Nepalese, Israeli, Myanmarese and Sri Lankan officials and politicians were among those who sent congratulatory messages to Modi.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a message expressed her wish for further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between India and Italy.

"I look forward to working together to advance our shared interests in pursuit of shared prosperity and stability for our two countries," Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said.

"As the closest neighbour, Sri Lanka looks forward to further strengthening the partnership with India," President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te noted the fast-growing relations with India in his message.

"My sincere congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his election victory. We look forward to enhancing the fast-growing Taiwan-India partnership, expanding our collaboration on trade, technology and other sectors to contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," he said.

-- BERNAMA