Foreign leaders congratulate President Duda on reelection
President Andrzej Duda, following his Sunday victory in the run-off vote, has received scores of congratulatory messages from world leaders, including the US, Slovenian and Slovak presidents, as well as British prime minister.
"Congratulations to my friend President @AndrzejDuda of Poland on his historic re-election! Looking forward to continuing our important work together across many issues, including defense, trade, energy, and telecommunications security!," US President Donald Trump tweeted early on Tuesday.
Duda met with Trump in Washington on June 24. At a White House press conference, they announced the signing of a deal on the development of nuclear energy in Poland.
Slovenia's President Borut Pahor congratulated his Polish counterpart on Tuesday by phone. The presidents also spoke about current affairs and bilateral relations, the Slovenian press agency STA said. According to Pahor's office the two talked about the need to resume meetings of world leaders to deal with complex international issues.
In a Twitter post on Tuesday morning, Slovak President Zuzana Caputova wrote that she wished Duda all the best for his second term of office and good luck in his efforts to unify the country after such close election results.
She added that Slovakia and Poland were good neighbours and allies who need to work together for a strong, prosperous and green EU, based on the values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic, as cited by the Slovak news agency TASR, congratulated Poles for their record-high turnout in Sunday's ballot, adding he deems Poland's election "a feast of democracy" and that he fully respects the result of the vote.
Late on Monday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also posted a congratulatory message to Duda on Twitter.
"Congratulations to @AndrzejDuda on your re-election as President of Poland. The UK and Poland have a long, shared history and friendship in Europe, NATO and elsewhere. I look forward to that continuing as we face the challenges and opportunities ahead," the British prime minister wrote.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg congratulated the Polish head of state on his election victory in a telephone conversation, President Duda's chief aide Krzysztof Szczerski announced on Twitter. He added that the conversation concerned plans of further cooperation designed to strengthen NATO and Euro-Atlantic security.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko congratulated President Duda on his victory in the Sunday run-off vote of the presidential election, BielTa state agency reported, quoting press services of the Belarusian head of state.
In a press release sent to PAP, the Turkish Embassy in Poland reported that President Tayyip Erdogan sent a congratulatory message to President Duda on behalf of the Turkish people and from himself. President Erdogan expressed his belief that during President Duda's second term of office "deeply-rooted relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries will further consolidate for the benefit of the two nations and the entire international community."
In a letter to President Duda, Bulgarian Head of State Rumen Radev congratulated his Polish counterpart on his reelection victory, and expressed his conviction that Bulgarian-Polish cooperation will be continued and deepened.
President Radev underlined that he highly appreciated fruitful dialogue with Poland, both in bilateral and multilateral relations, and expressed his hope that it will help increase Europe's security and development and that the traditional friendship of the two nations will be consolidated in the atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.
Poland's incumbent Duda was reelected for a five-year term of office on Sunday with 51.03 percent of the vote, the State Electoral Commission (PKW) announced at a press conference on Monday evening, presenting the official election results. The election turnout reached 68.18 percent, the second highest since the fall of communism in 1989.
