World leaders hail ‘ground-breaking milestone’
RISHI SUNAK on Tuesday (25) became Britain’s third prime minister this year and the first person of colour to hold the top job, receiving welcome messages from around the world.
Ahead of Sunak’s appointment as prime minister by King Charles, US president Joe Biden said it was “groundbreaking” that Britain would be led by a person with Indian heritage.
“It’s pretty astounding, a ground-breaking milestone and it matters,” Biden said at a White House celebration of Diwali on Monday (24).
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi did not wait for Sunak to be officially appointed, sending congratulations via Twitter on Monday.
“As you become UK PM, I look forward to working closely together on global issues,” Modi wrote. “Special Diwali wishes to the ‘living bridge’ of UK Indians, as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media that he hoped Sunak
would be able “to successfully overcome all the challenges facing British society and the whole world today”.
He added he was “ready to continue strengthening the Ukrainian-British strategic partnership”, following London being one of Kyiv’s most vocal supporters against Russia’s invasion.
France’s Emmanuel Macron wrote that “together we will continue working to tackle the challenges of the moment, including the war in Ukraine and its many consequences for Europe and the world”.
From Italy, newly-installed prime minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “eager to cooperate with (Sunak) and his cabinet on the common challenges, standing for our shared values of freedom and democracy”.
Meanwhile, German chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted, “I look forward to our further cooperation and partnership in NATO and (the) G7 as close friends.” .
Polish president Andrzej Duda wrote that he was “looking forward to our meeting and cooperation and wish you success in your endeavours”.
From Spain, prime minster Pedro Sanchez said that “we will continue to strengthen our ties for the benefit of our fellow citizens. Only solidarity and unity will allow us to confront the challenges and consequences of the war in Ukraine”.
Maros Sefcovic, the European Union’s point man on postBrexit ties with Britain, said that “a positive EU-UK relationship is of strategic importance”.
He vowed to work towards “a partnership in full respect of our agreements” – including the contentious issue of Northern Ireland’s land border with EU-member Ireland.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said that “in these testing times for our continent, we count on a strong relationship with the UK to defend our common values”.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that in Moscow, “we do not see any preconditions, grounds, or hope that in the foreseeable future there will be any positive changes” in the relationship between the UK and Russia.