Sri Lanka's new president sworn in facing tough task

Sri Lanka's new president Ranil Wickremesinghe will have his work cut out for him to handle the country's collapsed economy after he was chosen to carry out his self-exiled predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s full term.

- SRAVASTI DASGUPTA

Mr Wickremesinghe, who was sworn in yesterday after being chosen by parliamentary lawmakers a day earlier, has a tough task ahead of him.

His handling of the cash-strapped country’s economy will be closely watched by global superpowers US and China, the latter of which the Rajapaksa clan has relied on and which some analysts blame for having a hand in the destruction of the economy.

Mr Wickremesinghe has made overtures to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the country’s Central Bank governor Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe has said that an agreement with the IMF was necessary to abate the crisis.

IMF funding will unlock other sources of funding, because bridge financing, which offiials were hoping for in the interim, remains hard to come by, he said.

The country also seems to be hedging its bets as Mr Weerasinghe mentioned rival Asian superpowers India and China.

“If we get some assistance from either India or China in this interim, we can manage this period. We are discussing with them. What we think is, if we get (assistance), things could ease somewhat, if not we will have to continue like this,” he said.

While China is conspicuously yet to issue a statement formally congratulating the new president – a statement on Monday from Sri Lanka’s envoy to China said relations will not be affected by a change in government – the CIA’s chief has spoken out.

On the same day Mr Wickremesinghe was chosen, William Burns categorised Sri Lanka’s deals with China as “some really dumb bets about their economic future”.

 The IMF also chimed in on Wednesday, saying it hoped to finish negotiations with Sri Lanka at the earliest.