President-elect of Sri Lanka wants coalition government to revive economy

(HRNW) Ranil Wickremesinghe, the country’s new leader, has officially asked lawmakers to join an all-party unity government; that would enact difficult changes in an effort to rescue the nation’s failing economy; his office said on Sunday.

Wickremesinghe assumed power earlier this month after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced; to leave the country and resign due to popular outrage over the island nation’s; greatest economic crisis.

Wickremesinghe discussed his ideas at a meeting with the powerful monks of the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy; one of Buddhism’s holiest sites, on Saturday.

In his first meeting with the influential Buddhist clergy since assuming office; Wickremesinghe was quoted as saying, “As the president, I intend to start a new journey.”