President Biden congratulated Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on winning a second term as his country’s leader.
“On behalf of the people of the United States, I send our congratulations to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece on his reelection,” Biden said in a statement on Sunday, noting that he’s looking forward to continuing his partnership with Mitsotakis, focusing on their shared priorities such as to foster prosperity and regional security.
“Together—as Allies, partners, and friends—Greece and the United States have championed democracy,” Biden added in his statement. “We will keep working with the government and people of Greece as well as our vibrant Greek-American community in the United States to continue this legacy.”
Biden’s remarks come as Mitsotakis and his party, the center-right New Democracy, garnered over 40 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election, winning at least 158 seats in the 300-seat parliament, according to CNN.
New Democracy’s opposition, the leftist-based Syriza, only garnered 17 percent of the vote, according to early results.
“We have high targets that will transform Greece,” Mitsotakis said in his victory speech. “Today we will celebrate our victory, tomorrow we will roll up our sleeves.”
Mitsotakis, 55, saw success in his first term as Greece’s prime minister, with his government staging a turnaround in its economy, which is now on the brink to return to investment grade on the global market for the first time since losing market access since 2010, CNN reported.