Sri Lankan leader appeals for patience amid economic crisis

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president has appealed for patience amid the country’s worst economic crisis but promised brighter times ahead. President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a policy speech on Wednesday after inaugurating a new parliamentary session that he had been forced to make unpopular decisions to salvage the country’s finances, including by introducing measures such as higher taxes. Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis and has announced it is suspending repayment of its foreign debt, while seeking debt restructuring assurances from its creditors to unlock a $2.9 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. Massive protests last year forced Wickremesinghe’s predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to flee the country and resign.