Sri Lanka crisis: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invites parties to join cabinet

Amid the political crisis sweeping the country, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has invited all parties in Parliament to accept ministerial posts.

On Sunday, all cabinet ministers had resigned from Rajapaksa's government leaving the president to appoint a new cabinet as anti-government protests erupted despite a nationwide curfew.

Reports say Ali Sabry will be sworn in as the finance minister with Dinesh Gunawardena set to become the new education minister. Local media reports say Prof. G. L Peiris will be the new foreign minister and Johnston Fernando will be the new minister of highways.

"President Gotabaya Rajapaksa invited all political parties to come together to find solutions to the ongoing national crisis," the government said in a statement, adding," considering this a national need, the time has come to work together for the sake of all the citizens and future generations,"

The president last week had imposed a nationwide emergency as protesters attempted to storm the presidential house in Colombo. On Monday, Sri Lanka's stock exchange had halted trading after the blue-chip index dropped 5.92 per cent amid mass resignationby Rajapaksa's cabinet.

Watch:Sri Lankan cabinet resigns en masse

Colombo stock exchange said trading was halted for 30 minutes after stocks plunged. Reports claim Sri Lanka's central bank governor quit his post amid the worsening economic situation in the country.

Sri Lanka has been battling an economic crisis for the past two years ever since the pandemic hit two years with its foreign reserves at an all-time low. The country has been hit by fuel shortages and power cuts amid the crisis. Protesters last week launched demonstrations against the government as Rajapaksa's ministers quit.

(With inputs from Agencies)