KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 ― Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim became the first leader to congratulate Prabowo Subianto, who was yesterday announced as the official winner of the Indonesian Presidential Election (Pilpres) 2024.

In wishing Prabowo the best of luck, Anwar expressed his confidence that he will be able to carry out the given mandate with excellence for the continuous progress and prosperity of Indonesia.

"I have contacted the President-Elect of the Republic of Indonesia His Excellency Mr. Prabowo Subianto to congratulate him on his success in the recently concluded Indonesian Presidential Election.

"I was informed that I was the first leader to congratulate him after the official announcement of the election results,” said Anwar in a post on his Facebook.

Anwar said it was meaningful because it symbolised the value of friendship between Malaysia and Indonesia which is very special as a close and important neighbour.

The prime minister said he and Prabowo are determined to strengthen bilateral relations covering various aspects as neighbouring countries and pledged to cooperate closely in various multilateral forums, especially within the scope of ASEAN.

On Wednesday, the Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU) announced Prabowo-Gibran Rakabuming Raka as the official winner of the 2024 Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections.

The results of the KPU showed that Prabowo-Gibran won in 36 regions while the other two regions were won by their rivals, the Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar pair. ― Bernama