Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe moots ‘aid consortium’ with foreign envoys in Colombo
The HinduSri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has vowed to “deliver solutions” to the island’s deepening economic crisis, kicked off duties on Friday, discussing formation of a “foreign aid consortium” with Colombo-based envoys, his office said. Discussed continued cooperation for economic recovery and stability in #SriLanka through democratic processes towards the wellbeing of all the people of Sri Lanka,” the Indian mission said in a tweet. Former Finance Minister Ali Sabry – the Cabinet ceased to be after Mr. Mahinda’s resignation – recently told parliament that Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves stood at $50 million, barely enough to service a week’s imports. “The Chinese Ambassador, when meeting Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, expressed his country’s willingness to continue to support Sri Lanka while also pledging to review existing assistance provided to the country,” his office said in a statement.