Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, welcomed the election of Asif Ali Zardari as Pakistan's new president on Saturday, DPA reported. "I trust that under your presidency the government will implement appropriate policies to meet the important economic and security challenges the country is currently facing," Barroso said. Barroso added that the European Union would work with Pakistan to help meet its challenges. Zardari, 52, secured 281 out of 426 parliamentary votes on Saturday to become Pakistan's 14th president since the state's foundation in 1947.