India

Sri Lanka economic crisis top developments: New PM Wickremesinghe’s Cabinet takes shape; India to supply 65,000 tonnes of urea

Sri Lanka’s nationwide lockdown was briefly lifted on Saturday as new Prime Miner Ranil Wickremesinghe made first his cabinet appointments after nine people were killed amid protests between pro and anti-government groups. 
The newly-appointed PM urged the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader to leave aside party politics and join hands with him to form a non-partisan government to resolve the ongoing economic crisis. 
Meanwhile, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday appointed four members of the ruling party to Prime Miner Wickremesinghe’s Cabinet, including G L Peiris as the Foreign Miner.
Here are the top developments from Sri Lanka 
🔴 India will be supplying 65,000 metric tonnes of urea to Sri Lanka to avoid any disruption in paddy cultivation. The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in New Delhi, Milinda Moragoda, met with the Secretary of the Department of Fertilisers, Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi, in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss the supply of urea required for the current Yala cultivation season in Sri Lanka, PTI reported. 
Morogoda thanked Chaturvedi for his personal involvement in arranging necessary approvals and logics to supply urea to the country. In response, Chaturvedi said that his Department is always ready to support Sri Lanka in keeping with India’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy and that the department is making arrangements to ship the required quantity of urea from the nearest port to Sri Lanka through a State Company coming under his purview.
🔴 Sri Lanka’s ruling SLPP party announced that it was extending support to new Prime Miner Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has just one seat in Parliament, to help him prove a majority in the House. 
“We have political differences with him, but he is known as someone with international support to pull this country out of the economic problems we are facing,” S M Chandrasena, a former miner and a senior leader of the ruling party, said. 
🔴 Wickremesinghe inducted four miners into his Cabinet on Saturday, including G L Peiris as the Foreign Miner. Dinesh Gunawardena has been sworn in as the Miner of Public adminration, Prasanna Ranatunga as the Miner of Urban Development and housing and Kanchana Wijesekara as the Miner of Power and Energy, PTI reported. 
Previously, Peiris served as Foreign miner in the former Mahinda Rajapaksa-led Cabinet.
🔴 In a letter addressed to the leader of the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), PM Wickremesinghe urged the party to leave aside party politics and join hands with him to form a non-partisan government. 
In the letter, Wickremesinghe invited the SJB to support the joint effort made them to immediately resolve the burning issues faced the people and also to stabilise the country economically, politically and socially obtaining foreign assance.

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