President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended his congratulations to Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto for his significant lead over his rivals in the presidential elections in Indonesia as he vowed a strengthened ties between the two countries.

“My warmest congratulations to Defense Minister @prabowo on his commanding lead in the latest electoral count to be Indonesia’s next President,” Marcos said on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.

Marcos said the Philippine government is looking forward to deepening the bilateral ties between the Philippines and Indonesia, calling the latter the country’s close neighbor and partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The chief executive also noted that Philippines and Indonesia are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations this year, having been officially established on November 24, 1949.

“I look forward to deepening PH’s bilateral ties with Indonesia, a close neighbor and partner in ASEAN, most especially as we celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations this year,” Marcos said.

The 72-year old Prabowo is a former military special forces commander. He is leading against his rivals Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo based on the independent pollsters conducting the count in the presidential elections in Indonesia.

World leaders have also congratulated Prabowo after he took a big lead in the presidential polls. Presidential News Desk