Page 2 - Ranil Wickremesinghe

Sri Lanka backs India, Japan's bids for permanent status at UNSC: President

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday said his government will back the bids of India and Japan for permanent member status at the UN Security Council. President Wickremesinghe is currently in Japan to attend the state funeral of the former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. During a meeting with Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe "appreciated the support extended by Japan (to Sri Lanka) on the international stage and expressed the government's willingness to support both Japan's and India's campaign to become permanent members of the UN Security Council, the President's office said in a press release. India has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the Security Council saying it rightly deserves a place as a permanent member of the UN body, which in its current form does not represent the geo-political realities of the 21st century. At present, the UNSC comprises five permanent members and 10 non-permanent mem

Lanka declares key govt building locations in Colombo as high security zone

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday declared several key locations in Colombo, including Parliament, Supreme Court complex and the President's Secretariat among others, as high security zones, banning any kind of protest or agitation in premises near to it. The move, which are restrictions to those of during Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) days that saw suicide explosions at such key locations, prevents even parking of cars in any of the areas near to the premises of the key government buildings. Significantly some of the designated locations were the sites for large public agitations which demanded the resignation of the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa between early April to mid July as civilians across the island nation agitated against Rajapaksha family for handling of Sri Lanka's economic crisis, which it even now is unable to recover from. In an extraordinary gazette notification issued on Friday, the President's Secretariat has declared key government

Fallen Rajapaksas back Wickremesinghe as Lanka's creditors seek answers

Much has changed since demonstrators drove Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office in July, the climax of months of protests after record-high inflation and depleted currency reserves bankrupted the nation

Keen to upgrade free-trade deal with India, says Sri Lanka President

Sri Lanka is keen to upgrade the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement into a comprehensive economic and technological partnership, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday, asserting that the work which started in 2018 and 2019 has not found much progress. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Sri Lanka was the first-ever bilateral trade agreement for both countries, signed in 1998 and enforced in 2000. The pact is aimed at further boosting the economic ties between the two countries by liberalising trade norms. "Sri Lanka and India gradually have to wean themselves out of the barriers to investment and the non-tariff barriers to trade especially in relation to Sri Lanka Indo economic relations, Wickremesinghe said while addressing a gathering of the Sri Lanka-India Society to mark the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence. He said the future relations of India with its neighbours will be determined by trade integration. "Trade integration gives an economic base. The .

Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday signed the condolence book at the British High Commission in Colombo and extended his deepest condolences on the passing away of Queen Elizabeth II

Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe to attend Queen's funeral in Britain

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in Britain, his office announced on Sunday. Wickremesinghe visited the British High Commission in Colombo on Sunday morning to sign the book of condolence placed there. The monarch, who celebrated her 70th year on the throne this year, passed away on September 8 at Balmoral Castle. The state funeral for the Queen will be held at Wesminster Abbey on September 19. As a mark of respect to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Sri Lanka's national flag is flown at half-mast at all state buildings while a day of mourning has been declared for September 19. Queen Elizabeth II was Sri Lanka's head of state until May 1972 when the island left the British sovereign to become a republic. The Queen had visited Sri Lanka twice in 1954 and 1981 and later was represented by Prince of Wales at visits in 1998, 2004 and 2013 for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting hosted here in Colombo. Queen's body will be

Lanka's ex-President Gotabaya returns home, gets special security, bungalow

Sri Lanka's former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been given special security and a state bungalow for accommodation on his return here from Thailand where he fled amid months-long mass protests over the country's worst economic crisis, officials said on Saturday. Rajapaksa, 73, was accorded a warm welcome as he returned to Colombo from Thailand amid tight security on late Friday. He was festooned with flowers by a welcoming party of ministers and politicians as he disembarked at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport from Bangkok via Singapore. The former president wanted to move into his private residence at Mirihana in Colombo's eastern suburb of Nugegoda. However, security considerations prevented him from going to his private residence where he always lived even after becoming the president in 2019, officials said. After being welcomed by lawmakers of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, Rajapaksa left the airport in a motorcade heavily guarded by armed

Sri Lanka parliament passes 2022 interim budget with 120 votes, 5 opposed

Sri Lanka's Parliament passed the interim budget presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe for 2022 on Friday, a day after the IMF announced it will provide a loan of about USD 2.9 billion to help the crisis-hit country tide over its worst economic hardships. The budget was passed with only 5 members voting against it. Three legislators from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and two MPs from the All Ceylon Tamil Congress voted against the interim budget. A total of 115 members in the 225-member assembly voted in favor while the main opposition SJB abstained from voting. Wickremesinghe aimed for tax reforms while allowing relief to the most vulnerable groups affected by the ongoing economic crisis in the island nation. The interim budget introduced a number of tax reforms pertaining to income tax, value added tax (VAT), telecommunication levy and betting and gaming levy. VAT rate will be increased to 15 per cent from the current rate of 12 per cent with effect from September 1 t

Sri Lanka president raises IMF loan hopes, budget aims to bolster revenue

Sri Lanka's talks with the IMF on a bailout package have made solid progress, its president said

Sri Lankan President to present interim budget with major relief measures

A comprehensive budget is also planned to be presented for the year 2023 in November

Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe to present interim budget on Aug 30

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is also the finance minister will present an interim budget on August 30, seeking enhanced expenditure and borrowing limits for his cash-strapped government. The interim budget comes amidst the government's ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible bailout package. The Sri Lankan Parliament's communications office said President Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the finance minister will present the interim budget on August 30 and the lawmakers will debate the budget from Tuesday to Friday that week. The budget will seek an additional sum of LKR 929.4 billion to the originally approved figure of LKR 2,796.4 billion for 2021 as the increased government expenditure, it said. The budget will also seek an increase to the government's borrowing limit with an additional sum of LKR 892 billion -- up from the originally approved LKR 3,200 billion. Wickremesinghe has said he was keen to provide relief throug

Lanka's human rights commission directs prez to ensure Rajapaksa's return

Writing to Ranil Wickremesinghe, the HRCSL stated that Rajapaksa is entitled to certain privileges and benefits under law and government should take necessary steps to ensure his security to return

Sri Lanka President calls Rajapaksa to facilitate his return: Report

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has reached out to his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to finalise arrangements and facilitate his return to the crisis-hit country, a media report said on Monday. Rajapaksa, 73, fled the country and resigned last month in the face of a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the island nation's economy. He is currently staying in a hotel in Bangkok with his wife Loma Rajapaksa. The Daily Mirror newspaper, citing highly-placed sources, claimed Wickremesinghe is reported to have contacted Rajapaksa to discuss arrangements for his return to the country. The move comes after the ruling party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa met Wickremesinghe recently and called for the former president's early return to the country, the report said. The date of Rajapaksa's return has still not been finalised, it said, amid reports that he may arrive here this week from Bangkok. Last week, the main Opposition pa

Live news updates: India logs 9,062 new Covid cases, 36 deaths in 24 hours

Live news updates: Gandhi also appointed Vikar Rasool Wani, considered close to Azad, as the new JK unit chief

Rajapaksa not using state funds for expenses abroad: Sri Lankan govt

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is not using state funds for any expenses he makes abroad: Sri Lanka

China not allowed to use Hambantota Port for military purposes: Lanka Prez

China will not be allowed to use the southern port of Hambantota for military purposes, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said, apparently attempting to allay fears in India and the US about China's increasing maritime presence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Wickremesinghe said this ahead of the arrival of a high-tech Chinese research ship, which on Tuesday docked at the Hambantota Port, which Beijing took over on a 99-year-lease as a debt swap in 2017. We do not want Hambantota to be used for military purposes, Wickremesinghe said on Sunday in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper at the President's House in Colombo. His statement to the Japanese newspaper was apparently aimed at allaying fears in India and the United States about China's increasing maritime presence in the Indo-Pacific. The port was developed as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, but Colombo leased the port to Beijing in 2017 because it became unable to pay back the ...

While high-tech ship berths at SL, China says it doesn't affect any country

They do not affect the security and the economic interests of any country and should not be obstructed by any third party," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

India gifts Dornier aircraft to strengthen maritime security of Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was present at the impressive handover ceremony which took place on a day when India celebrated its 76th Independence Day

Sri Lanka protesters get court reprieve, anti-govt demonstrations can go on

Defiant demonstrations near the presidential office can go on for another week following an assurance by the Attorney General in a top court here on Friday that no action to remove the protesters

Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe thanks PM Modi for India's support

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday thanked India which he said under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi has provided the crisis-hit island nation "a breath of life" in tough times.