President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called on MPs to form an all-party government to help resolve an economic crisis as the nation restarts financial bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe delivers his policy speech to lawmakers during the opening of the new parliamentary session in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday, 3 August, 2022.Sri Lanka faces a "great danger" with fuel shortages sparked by its unprecedented economic crisis set to continue at least till the year's end, President Ranil Wickremesinghe warned on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka will restart bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund in August, Mr Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday, while calling on lawmakers to form an all-party government to resolve a crippling economic crisis. The island nation of 22 million people is facing its worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, with its foreign exchange reserves at record lows, and the economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and a steep fall in government revenue.
Discussions with the IMF for a four-year programme that could provide up to US$3 billion would resume in August, Mr Wickremesinghe told lawmakers in his first major address to parliament since taking over.Sri Lanka’s president has been turfed out. Now the Australian diaspora fears a decade of pain But the new president reiterated his call for a unity government, adding that he had already initiated discussions with some groups."I respectfully extend the hand of friendship to all of you. I confidently invite you to put aside the past and come together for the sake of the country," Mr Wickremesinghe said.
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