Xi, Putin and Imran among world leaders to congratulate Modi on election victory

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan were among dozens of world leaders who congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday on his impressive victory in the general elections as they vowed to work with him to bolster the bilateral ties.

President Xi extended "heartfelt" congratulations to Modi on his election victory and vowed to work with him to take the bilateral ties to a new height.

"I attach great importance to the development of China-India relations and would like to work with you to guide the development directions of the bilateral relations, enhance mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and promote the closer developmental partnership between the two countries to a new height," Xi wrote in a letter to Modi.

As important neighbours to each other, China and India are two largest developing countries and emerging economies in the world. In recent years, China-India relations have shown strong momentum of development under the joint efforts of both sides, according to the letter.

Xi's message congratulating Modi even before the official announcement of results came as a surprise as normally, by practice and protocol, the Chinese leadership greets leaders of other countries after the official results are declared.

Considering the bonhomie and friendship between Xi and Modi, who met numerous times in the last few years and had their first informal summit at Wuhan last year, officials said that Xi did not wait for an official declaration of the polls due to the strong showing of the NDA.

Imran Khan congratulated Modi on his electoral triumph and expressed desire to work with him for peace and prosperity in the region.

"I congratulate Prime Minister Modi on the electoral victory of BJP and allies. Look forward to working with him for peace, progress and prosperity in South Asia," Khan tweeted in both English and Urdu.

The results of India's general elections are very significant for Pakistan as the formation of the next government in New Delhi will determine the course of Indo-Pakistan ties, which were pushed to a new low after the Pulwama terror attack.

In April, Khan said he believed there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Modi's party BJP wins the general elections.

Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that Pakistan was committed to resolve all issues with India through dialogue irrespective of the outcome of the elections.

President Putin congratulated Modi on the convincing victory of his party in the elections and expressed his readiness to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations.

"I am convinced that, as the Prime Minister of India, you will further strengthen the centuries-old friendship between our peoples and the all-round development of a particularly privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India," Putin said in a congratulatory message.

He expressed his readiness to continue fruitful personal contacts with Prime Minister Modi and to work together to build up the full range of bilateral relations and constructive interaction in international affairs, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo called Prime Minister Modi and congratulated him for the resounding victory of his party in the elections. Modi thanked him for his wishes.

During the conversation, both leaders noted the advances made in the bilateral relationship in the last five years and reiterated their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership to achieve their shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Modi and vowed to strengthen their "great friendship" as well as bilateral ties.

"Together we will continue to strengthen the great friendship between us and India and Israel and lead it to new heights," Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew, Hindi and English.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani congratulated Modi on a strong mandate and said the government and the people of Afghanistan look forward to expanding cooperation between the two democracies in pursuit of regional cooperation, peace and prosperity for all of South Asia.

Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli congratulated his Indian counterpart and hoped to work closely with him in future.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and main Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa also congratulated Prime Minister Modi.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated Modi and said this "emphatic verdict is a reflection of the trust and confidence reposed on you by the people of the world's largest democracy."