Sri Lankan president swears in 4 ministers to new cabinet

Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday swore in four ministers to the new cabinet after United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the South Asian country’s prime minister.

According to the President’s Media Division, The new appointments are Dinesh Gunawardena as the minister of public administration, G.L. Peiris as the minister of foreign affairs, Prasanna Ranatunga as the minister of urban development, and Kanchana Wijesekera as the minister of power and energy.

The president’s brother Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday, following violent attacks by his supporters on peaceful anti-government protesters.

His resignation automatically dissolved the Cabinet, leaving an administrative vacuum.

Senior political officials said that, “More ministers will be appointed as the president and prime minister are urging all political parties to join hands to form a national government to tackle the ongoing political and economic instability in the country.”

Xinhua