Xi congratulates Wickremesinghe on his appointment as Sri Lankan president, offers help to deal with crisis

July 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday for his appointment as the new president of Sri Lanka and offered help to the country to address the serious economic crisis it is going through.

“I am convinced that under the presidency of Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka will overcome the difficulties and begin the economic and social restoration that it needs,” Xi said in his congratulatory message, according to reports from Chinese state television CCTV.

Xi has stressed that the development of bilateral relations between the two countries is important and has indicated that he is willing to “help the new president and the Ceylonese people” to move forward.

Wickremesinghe, who has been the country’s prime minister six times, was named president this week in a vote in parliament. The other two candidates were Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara Dissanayaka.

Sri Lanka’s eighth president will serve until November 2024, when the term of his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned last week after fleeing the country amid violent anti-government protests, expires.