PM Modi congratulates Wickremesinghe for becoming new President of Sri Lanka

PM Modi on Tuesday congratulated Sri Lanka's newly-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe and assured that India will continue to support Sri Lanka in the major ongoing crisis. The High Commission of India in Colombo Tweeted that "PM @narendramodi sent a congratulatory letter to H.E President @RW_UNP on his election."

"PM reiterated that India will continue to be supportive of the quest of the people of Sri Lanka for stability and economic recovery, through established democratic means, institutions and constitutional framework," it said.

The sixth Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the 8th President of the country amid the major economic crisis. On Thursday Wickremesinghe took oath as the new President of Sri Lanka, it will be really interesting to watch how the President will handle the country during this tough time. 

Wickremesinghe was appointed as acting President until a new president is elected by the 225-member parliament. After Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country to the Maldives and then to Singapore from where he announced his resignation. Wickremesinghe secured 134 votes in the 225-member House. 

The people of Sri Lanka are facing the worst-ever economic crisis with mounting debts, and rocketing inflation. The economy of the country mainly dependent on textile export, foreign labor and tourism was hit by the 2019 Easter Sunday attack and then the Covid pandemic.