TEHRAN –Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani has congratulated the victory of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the presidential election to the Brazilian people.

In a statement late on Monday, Kanaani also expressed hope that the relationship between Iran and Brazil which always been based on “goodwill” and “mutual respect” will expand more under the leadership of the president-elect.

The relations between Iran and Brazil will enter its 120th year in 2023.

“The relations between the two countries, especially in the areas of economy and commerce, have been on the rise during the past years, and in view of the abundant existing potential in bilateral and multilateral ties the Islamic Republic of Iran hopes that this relationship will be consolidated and deepened in different areas during the presidency of Mr. Lula,” Kanaani said in his congratulatory message.

Brazilian voters elected Lula da Silva as the country's new president on Sunday, giving the leftist former leader another shot at power in a rejection of incumbent Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right politics.

Da Silva, or Lula as he is known mononymously, received 50.9% of the vote and Bolsonaro 49.1%, according to the country’s election authority, according to euronews.com.

“Today the only winner is the Brazilian people,” Lula said in a speech Sunday evening at a hotel in downtown Sao Paulo. 

“It’s the victory of a democratic movement that formed above political parties, personal interests and ideologies so that democracy came out victorious.”

Lula is promising to govern beyond his party. He says he wants to bring in centrists and even some leaning to the right and to restore the kind of prosperity the country enjoyed when he last served as president from 2003-2010.