May 13, Colombo: Newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has officially assumed duties today at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Leader of the United National Party was sworn-in as Sri Lanka’s 26th Prime Minister by the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday to bring the political stability and steer the country out of the worst economic crisis in the history.

Wickremesinghe agreed to take over the Prime Minister post following the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa as an immediate solution to the economic crisis was needed before an imminent collapse of the economy.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said his focus was limited to tackling the economic crisis.

“We need to create a country with a future for the youth, where people can eat three meals a day again and free of queues soon,” he said after taking oaths as Prime Minister.

“I want to settle this problem to ensure the supply of petrol, diesel and electricity to the people,” he said.

The new Premier said he will commit to do so with the international assistance and the support of all in the parliament and requested everyone to forget narrow politics and support him to build the economy soon.