Middle East leaders congratulate Macron on his re-election as French president

Arab leaders were quick to send President Emmanuel Macron congratulatory messages on winning a second five-year term in yesterday’s elections.

From tweets to telegrams, Arab leaders wished France’s centrist president success in governance and expressed their good wishes to the French nation.

The Saudi monarch, King Salman, congratulated Macron and praised “the distinguished relations between the two friendly countries”, which both parties seek to strengthen and develop.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “expressed his sincere congratulations to president Macron on being re-elected for a new presidential term, wishing him success and the friendly French people further prosperity”. Saudi Arabia’s state news agency reported.

According to the Emirates news agency, the president Sheikh Khalifa congratulated Macron and wished him “continuous prosperity”, highlighting the UAE’s keenness to develop bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields for the common good and interest of their people.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister of the UAE, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, also sent similar congratulatory messages to the French president, as confirmed by the same source.

The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was one of the first Arab leaders to congratulate Macron via Twitter, “I congratulate French President Emmanuel Macron on winning a new presidential term.”

He further stated, “the Egyptian-French relations are enhancing and we look forward to continuing consultations and mutual coordination on a number of regional and international files of common interest.”

In a congratulatory cable, the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq expressed his sincere congratulations to the President, wishing him success in leading the French nation to further progress, and for the good relations between the two countries’ further development and prosperity, reported the Omani news agency.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi also congratulated Macron and the French people, highlighting his wishes to strengthen joint cooperation between the two nations.

In a tweet, Prince of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad sent his best wishes to Macron and shed light on the “strategic and strong relations” that link Qatar to the “friendly French Republic”.

As relayed by the Bahrain news agency, the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, congratulated the French president Macron and wished him “success in carrying out his presidential duties”.

On his part, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wished Macron success and expressed his sincere desire to “continue to work with him to further develop relations between the two countries and strengthen peace efforts necessary for the region and for the world.”

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani said in a congratulatory cable “I am pleased to continue working with you on strengthening the historical relations between France and Mauritania”, expressing confidently his intention to “embody the great values of justice and equality that underpin the cultures of the two nations.”

It is to note that Macron is the first president to win re-election in two decades since Jacques Chirac in 2002. He managed to defeat far-right leader Marine Le Pen with a comfortable margin of 58.55%, during the second round of the presidential elections.