Colombo, November 19 (UITV) – Sri Lanka’s new Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath recently took charge of his post. India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has congratulated Herath on his reappointment. Jaishankar, who is currently in Brazil for the G20 summit, expressed his best wishes on the social media platform ‘X’. He wrote, “Congratulations to Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath on her reappointment. Look forward to working together to further strengthen our historical bonds of friendship and deepen our comprehensive partnership for mutual benefit.” Jaishankar had detailed discussions with Herath during his visit to Colombo in September. During this visit, he had important talks on Sri Lanka’s political and economic issues. This visit took place when Sri Lankan President Anura Kumar Dissanayake took office. Jaishankar was the first high-level foreign dignitary to visit Sri Lanka after President Dissanayake took office. 21 cabinet ministers including Wijitha Herath were sworn in at a swearing-in ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on Monday morning. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took charge of the new government after winning the presidential election on September 21, reports Xinhua news agency. The cabinet formed under his leadership prominently includes Wijitha Herath and Harini Amarasuriya.
The National People’s Power (NPP) party won a historic victory in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election. In the election held on November 14, the NPP won 159 seats and secured a two-thirds majority in Parliament. This is the first time a political party has secured such a majority after the introduction of the proportional representation system.
Harini Amarasuriya will continue to serve as Prime Minister in the new government, while Wijitha Herath will also hold the charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as Foreign Employment and Tourism.
During the swearing-in of the new cabinet, President Dissanayake thanked the people of the country and said that they have supported the NPP to change the political and economic direction of Sri Lanka. He stressed that the public has expressed confidence in the NPP based on its policies and the honesty of the leaders. The President also said that now the public will evaluate the NPP on the basis of its performance as a government.
This new government is considered to be the beginning of a new era for Sri Lanka, as the country is trying to recover from economic and political crises. Herath and other ministers will have a big responsibility to revive the country’s economy and improve Sri Lanka’s image on the global stage.
