World leaders rush to congratulate Obama

World leaders rushed to congratulate Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday following his historic win in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described a "vital" relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom and said he was excited about the prospect of working with the new U.S. president.

"I know Barack Obama and we share many values," he said. "And I look forward to working extremely closely with him in the coming months and years."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also offered her congratulations and said she would work with Obama to deal with the challenges facing the world.

"I'm convinced that through a close and trusting cooperation between the United States and Europe we will be able to confront new risks and challenges in a decisive manner and will be able to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that are opening up in our world," Merkel said.

"Rest assured that my government appreciates hugely the meaning and value of the transatlantic relationship for our common future."

Obama met both Brown and Merkel over the summer while on an international trip through Europe and the Middle East and held a huge rally in Berlin that revived memories of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit.

Chinese President Hu Jintao offered similar congratulations, asking Obama to join China in shouldering "important common responsibilities."

"I look forward to endeavor together with you," he said. "To push the Sino-U.S. constructive and cooperative relations to a new level, in order to better benefit our two peoples and the peoples of the world."

In Kenya, Obama's extended family danced in his ancestral village of Kogelo, chanting, "Barack Obama, Barack Obama is going to the White House."

Obama's grandmother, half-brother and relatives eagerly watched the election results, while in the capital Nairobi, revelers marched and danced through the streets to sirens and whistles, singing Obama's name and carrying and waving American flags.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki called Obama's election "a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya. The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success."

Kibaki declared Thursday a public holiday in honor of Obama's victory, The Associated Press reported.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, where Obama lived with his mother and stepfather in the late 1960s, hundreds of students at his old elementary school poured into the playground and danced in the rain, some chanting "Obama! Obama!", AP reported.

In the Japanese town bearing Obama's name, jubilation took a few minutes to translate from the group of American teachers to the local crowd, which also cheered "O-ba-ma!", CNN's Kyung Lah blogged.

Obama cakes, chopsticks, T-shirts and kimonos carry an "I (heart) Obama" on them. A band penned a song "Obama is a beautiful world," and a party was about to get under way, Lah said.

In an open letter to Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy offered "my warmest congratulations, and through me, those of the entire French people."

He said Obama's election raised in France, in Europe and around the world "an immense hope" and that the American people "had expressed with force their faith in progress and the future."

Financial markets in Asia were higher Wednesday as traders were hopeful that a new U.S. president could successfully tackle the world financial crisis. In Europe though the main markets were down by between 1 and 2 percent.

At an election viewing party in Paris, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde highlighted the global financial crisis as the next president's priority. She told CNN's Jim Bittermann she expected the president-elect to be "clearly involved" in the upcoming financial summit hosted by President George W. Bush.

In two nations where the U.S. is involved in wars, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said the American people have taken "themselves ... and the rest of the world into a new era, the era where race, color and ethnicity ... will also disappear as a factor in politics in the rest of the world."

Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, meanwhile told Al-Arabiya television, he viewed Obama's win as a chance to establish "a successful future partnership between the two countries," according to The Associated Press. Watch reaction from Iraq, Afghanistan Video

In addition to the global financial crisis, Obama's challenges include Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and relations with Syria -- challenges the Middle Eastern media have dubbed "the hot files."

In an analysis piece, CNN's Octavia Nasr said most commentators and citizens in the Middle East favored an Obama win. But his inheritance of Bush's policies amid a rise in fundamentalism, longstanding conflicts, and a failing world economy meant "an already full plate ... and that is just one region of the world."

In Hong Kong's financial district, American Chris Exline of Republicans Abroad erupted into a solo applause, as his party's pick John McCain conceded to Obama. He said he was in "absolute shock."

His idea of the change that Obama would bring was in "my dollars ... going to increased taxes."

In Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday morning, catcalls went out after every state called for Obama, said CNN's Sohn Jie-Ae, who attended a viewing party by Democrats Abroad, the overseas branch of the U.S. Democratic Party.

The organization says its membership increased by more than 400 in the past few months, Sohn said. The people at the viewing party were camera-shy, however, because many had called in sick to watch their candidate become president.

In a mock election of 150 students, journalists and academics at the U.S. Embassy Election Watch Open House, McCain won 25 votes, Obama had 132 votes, and independent candidate Ralph Nader had none, Sohn said in a blog.

In Noida, India, just outside New Delhi, CNN's Sara Sidner said she observed that the U.S. election was not the minute-to-minute preoccupation of most people trying to eke out a daily living.

"Many could care less about it and are worried about the issues they and their country are facing." But CNN partner CNN-IBN was dedicating more than seven hours to the U.S. election, with huge graphic touch screens and commentators -- something unseen by U.S. networks to a national election other than their own, Sidner reported.

Source: edition.cnn.com