WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI/ MOSCOW/ TOKYO: As Donald Trump inched towards victory in the knife-edge race with Hillary Clinton, the world exalted and got jittery at the same time.
World leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, congratulated Trump on his victory.
Modi on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on being elected as US President, saying he looks forward to working with him closely to take Indo-US ties to a new height. “Congratulations @rea-lDonaldTrump on being elected as the 45th US President,” Modi said in a tweet. He said the country looks forward to working closely with Trump to strengthen bilateral ties.
“We look forward to working with you closely to take India-US bilateral ties to a new height,” the Prime Minister said. “We appreciate the friendship you have articulated towards India during your campaign, @rea-lDonaldTrump,” he said.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated Donald Trump on being elected as the US President, saying he looks forward to working with him closely as strong bilateral ties is critical for regional peace and security. “On behalf of the government and people of Pakistan, and on my own behalf, I wish to extend to you and the people of the US, our most sincere felicitations on your election as the 45th President of the US,” Sharif said in his message.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe congratulated Donald Trump on his election as US president and vowed that the countries will maintain their close relationship.
“I express my heartfelt congratulations on your election as the next president of the United States,” Abe said in a statement.
Whereas, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump on his victory in US elections, hoping to work with him to improve relations, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Putin “expressed hope for mutual work on bringing US-Russia relations out of their critical condition as well as on working out outstanding issues on the international agenda” in his congratulatory telegram, the Kremlin said. Putin has tacitly supported Trump during the campaign.
British Prime Minister Theresa May congratulated Trump on his victory in the US presidential election, saying Britain and America had an “enduring and special relationship”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Trump on becoming president-elect of the US, calling for cooperation between the top two economies of the world to maintain global peace and stability as well as improving bilateral ties while shunning confrontation.
In his message to Trump, Xi hoped they could work together to boost China-US relations so as to better benefit peoples around the world.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s office today called on US president-elect Donald Trump to work towards a Palestinian state, with peace efforts with Israel long at a standstill.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said there was “no possibility” of its nuclear deal with world powers being overturned by US president-elect Donald Trump despite his threat to rip it up.
Meanwhile, the improbable victory provoked global shock and angst over the implications for everything from trade to human rights and climate change.
“Reaction to the prospect of a Trump presidency rippled across the globe, with financial markets abroad falling as American television networks raised the prospect that Mrs Clinton might lose,” The New York Times said. Virginia, won by Clinton, has a significant Indian- American population and is home to Democratic vice- presidential nominee, Senator Tim Kaine.
In terms of overall vote percentage, Trump has so far received 48.5 per cent of the votes counted so far as against 47 per cent gained by Clinton.
The bombastic billionaire defeated Hillary Clinton in a result that few predicted, as millions of American voters shrugged off concerns over his temperament, lack of experience, and accusations of sexist and racist behaviour.
Trump’s rise has been keenly watched abroad as he campaigned on a platform of trashing trade agreements, questioning alliances, restricting immigration and dismissing climate change.
In often hushed scenes, many attendees at election- watching events around Asia expressed deep misgivings about Trump taking the reins of the world’s most powerful nation and economy. Dianita Sugiyo, 34, a university lecturer in Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim country — said she was concerned by Trump’s calls to temporarily ban Muslims from countries with histories of terrorism.
In the meantime, the election of a US President who has called global warming a “hoax” raised questions on Wednesday about America’s involvement in the Paris Agreement on climate change and the future of the deal itself. As the sun rose over the Atlas mountains, news of Trump’s victory was still sinking in at UN climate talks in Marrakech, Morocco, where delegates from almost 200 countries, including the US, were meeting for the first time since the landmark deal entered force.
The first official reaction came from an alliance of small island nations who fear they will be washed away by rising seas.
In a diplomatically worded statement, Maldives Energy Minister Thoriq Ibrahim, who chairs the alliance, congratulated Trump and said his administration will have to confront the challenge of climate change and the transition to cleaner energy.
“America has led this technological transformation and can continue to create jobs and opportunity in this area – something people everywhere will benefit from,” Ibrahim said.
“Trump will try and slam the brakes on climate action, which means we need to throw all of our weight on the accelerator,” Boeve said. (Agencies)
