Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as new Minister of Finance, Economic Stability and National Policies on Wednesday morning.
Wickremesinghe has taken an oath before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President's House in Colombo, reported Colombo Page as cited by the President's Media Division. Gamini Senarath, the secretary to the President also attended the oath-taking event.
Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed the Sri Lankan Prime Minister for a record sixth term. He accepted the post of Prime Minister after securing the support of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs. The Sri Lankan PM has given his assurance to the people of Sri Lanka that he will ensure the supply of petrol, diesel, and electricity to the island country.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the citizens, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation. The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a fall in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reckless economic policies.
Due to an acute shortage of foreign exchange, Sri Lanka recently defaulted on the entirety of its foreign debt amounting to about USD 51 billion.
The economic situation led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with the former finally succumbing to public pressure and resigning on Monday, soon after the protests outside the Prime Minister's residence turned violent.
( With inputs from ANI )
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