Obama welcomes result of Scottish independence vote

US President Barack Obama Friday welcomed Scotland's vote to remain as part of Britain, vowing to continue the "special relationship" with the United Kingdom to tackle with the challenges facing the world today.

"We welcome the result of yesterday's referendum on Scottish independence," the president said in a statement.

Scotland voted Thursday by a 55.3 to 44.7 percent margin to continue its union with England that has lasted for more than three centuries.

Obama said that through "debate, discussion and passionate yet peaceful deliberations," the Scottish people reminded the world of "Scotland's enormous contributions to the UK and the world, and have spoken in favour of keeping Scotland within the United Kingdom", Xinhua reported.

"We have no closer ally than the United Kingdom, and we look forward to continuing our strong and special relationship with all the people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as we address the challenges facing the world today," he added.

On Friday morning, British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to devolve more powers to Scotland as well as to England, Wales and Northern Ireland following the announcement of the referendum's final result.