Nine new ministers appointed in Sri Lanka

By Shakir Husain

NEW DELHI, May 20 (Bernama) -- Nine new ministers were sworn in on Friday in Sri Lanka as the all-party government tries to bring order to the country gripped by a financial crisis.

In key portfolios, Nimal Siripala De Silva will be ports and aviation minister, Susil Premajayantha has been given the education ministry and Keheliya Rambukwella will serve as health minister.

Nalin Fernando has been made trade minister, Tiran Alles will be public security minister and Harin Fernando has been given the tourism ministry.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa earlier this month appointed veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister to steer Sri Lanka out of its unprecedented economic turmoil.

Wickremesinghe succeeded Gotabaya's elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who resigned amid mounting public anger against the government's handling of high inflation, power outages and a shortage of essential goods.

Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe on Friday welcomed the announcement by the Group of Seven (G7) richest countries that they will assist Sri Lanka in securing debt relief.

"The continued engagement by the international community with Sri Lanka is key to overcoming the economic crisis," the Sri Lankan premier said in a tweet.

Sri Lanka's central bank said on Thursday economic activity will suffer this year due to the ongoing supply shortages, energy problems and social tensions.

It said "urgent measures are required to restore greater political stability through consensus governance and social harmony."

-- BERNAMA