PM: ‘We are facing a crisis, we have to get out of it’

COLOMBO: “We are facing a crisis, we have to get out of it,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Reuters as he left a temple in the main city of Colombo shortly after his swearing-in.

Asked whether there was a possible solution, he replied: “Absolutely.”

The 73-year-old is an economic liberal who has experience dealing with the International Monetary Fund, which is currently in discussions to bail out Sri Lanka.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa congratulated the new premier.

“My best wishes to the newly appointed PM … who stepped up to take on the challenging task of steering our country through a very turbulent time,” he tweeted. “I look forward to working together with him to make Sri Lanka strong again.”

President Rajapaksa has repeatedly called for a unity government to find a way out of the crisis, but opposition leaders say they will not serve until he resigns.