VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) congratulated Boris Johnson on being elected as prime minister of the United Kingdom (UK) and is upbeat about relations between both nations improving.

"Congratulations to the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party and UK Prime Minister @BorisJohnson @10downingstreet," the president stated through his Twitter handle @jokowi as quoted by Antara on Thursday.

In his tweet, Jokowi expressed optimism that bilateral relations between Indonesia and the United Kingdom would intensify following Johnson's election as the UK prime minister.

Close cooperation between the two countries would hopefully evolve into mutually beneficial cooperation, he affirmed.

"Looking forward to working closely with you to advance mutually beneficial relations between our two great nations," he noted.

Johnson was elected on Tuesday, July 23, 2019, as British prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party after trouncing his close rival, Jeremy Hunt.

Johnson secured 92,153 votes from the Tory Party members, leaving Hunt behind, with 46,656 votes.