A few days ago, Ranil Wickremesinghe (73) had taken oath as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He had assumed charge as 26th prime minister of the island country after the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
New Delhi: Amid ongoing crisis due to the worst ever economic downturn, Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday said that the country is facing a petrol crisis as there is hardly one day’s stock left. While addressing the nation, he said that the country is unable to make payments to import essential commodities. The PM of the island nation appealed to people not to make queues at petrol pumps.
“The country is facing an acute shortage of petrol. At present there is only one day’s stock left. His government is not in position to make payment for the oil shipments waiting outside the Colombo port and the reason is oil is yet to be discharged,” the PM said.
The Prime Minister also proposed privatisation of the national airline which is running at a loss. He said that the move is aimed to be taken as part of reforms to deal with the ongoing economic crisis. He informed that the government has been chalking out a plan to come out of the situation and a relief budget may be proposed by the government.
A few days ago, Ranil Wickremesinghe had taken oath as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Wickremesinghe (73) had assumed charge as 26th prime minister of the island country after the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Moments after swearing in ceremony, the PM had said that he wanted to strengthen Sri Lanka’s economy and to end political instability. “My focus will be to settle this problem to ensure the supply of petrol, diesel and electricity to the people,” the PM had said.
Also read: Ranil Wickremesinghe assumes charge as new Sri Lanka PM
Wickremesinghe had also expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending support during such a crucial time. On a bilateral front, India has committed three billion dollars to Sri Lanka in the form of loans, credit lines and credit swaps since the beginning of this year.
Referring about India’s economic assistance to Sri Lanka, Wickremesinghe had said, “I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I wish for a closer relationship with India.”
The Indian High Commissioner had met the newly elected PM. The High Commissioner had conveyed greetings and good wishes. During the meeting, matters pertaining to India-Sri- Lanka cooperation for economic recovery and stability in the country through democratic processes towards the well being of people were discussed.
