Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president

Colombo, SANA- Sri Lanka’s six-time prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was sworn in today as the country’s new president.

Wickremesinghe, 73, who was elected by the parliament yesterday, was sworn in at the parliament before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, AFP reported.

According to official sources, the new president is expected to form a government of no more than 30 ministers to get the country out of the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain.

The country’s 22 million people have been suffering from a shortage of basic materials since the end of last year, and the country no longer has foreign currency to finance its basic imports.

Ruaa al-Jazaeri