PM Anwar congratulates Turkiye's Erdogan on re-election victory

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and his wife Emine gesture to supporters at the party headquarters, in Ankara, Turkey. - Filepic

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on being re-elected in a historic presidential run-off election on Sunday (May 28).

"Turkiye will continue to play a constructive role as an important regional and global player.

"Malaysia looks forward to working closely with Türkiye to elevate our excellent bilateral relations," he said in a series of tweets on Monday (May 29).

Erdogan won the presidency with 52.14% of the votes, said the head of the country's supreme election council, Ahmet Yener, on Sunday (May 28), making the results official.

Foreign leaders including those of Russia, Qatar, Libya, Algeria, Hungary, Iran and the Palestinian Authority were among the first to congratulate Erdogan.

Congratulations to H.E President @RTErdogan for being elected as the 13th President of the Republic of Türkiye in the recent Presidential election. (1/3) — Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) May 29, 2023

In November, just hours after being selected as the nation's 10th Prime Minister and during his first press conference, Anwar received a call from Erdogan.

The congratulatory call, which lasted 10 minutes, was wholly aimed at strengthening the close cooperation between Turkiye and Malaysia.

Both leaders enjoy close relations and often exchange phone calls including during Hari Raya Aidilfitri.