Ranil confident of strengthened ties with UK under new PM Sunak
COLOMBO -– Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed confidence that ties between the island nation and the United Kingdom will be further strengthened under the leadership of new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
In a letter addressed to the British premier on Tuesday (25), Wickremesinghe said the “vast experience” Sunak brings to his office would be “invaluable in discharging [his] onerous responsibilities”.
Sunak, who was appointed leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party on Monday (24), was officially named prime minister after a meeting with King Charles Tuesday.
“I look forward to enhancing this partnership particularly through the ‘Global Britain’ policy and the UK’s new ‘Platinum Partnership’ scheme with the Commonwealth countries,” the president wrote.
Political analysts say President Wickremesinghe has been looking to improve Sri Lanka’s relations with the West, as the country goes through its worst currency crisis in decades.
On the other hand, the UK played an integral part in the United Nation’s Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s recently passed resolution on Sri Lana’s human rights situation.
On September 20, Wickremesinghe met the Commonwealth Secretary General and a group of Sri Lankan expats during a visit to the UK to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral was questioned in the island nation’s parliament.
Wickremesinghe also met King Charles III on September 18.
-economynext.com
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