Sri Lanka’s first communist president has been sworn in, promising to restore public trust in politics, but saying he had no miraculous answer to the hardships caused by an unparalleled economic crisis.
“I am not a conjuror, I am not a magician, I am a common citizen,” he said after taking his oath in a nationally televised ceremony attended by diplomats, politicians, and the military.
I have strengths and limitations, things I know and things. I don’t… my responsibility is to be part of a collective effort to end this crisis.”
Dissanayaka succeeds outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office during the height of the financial crisis, following the government’s first foreign debt default and months of punishing food, gasoline, and medicine shortages.
His efforts stopped shortages and restored economic development, but millions of people are still struggling to make ends meet.
India and China, Sri Lanka’s biggest neighbor and largest bilateral creditor, are battling for influence in the island nation, which is strategically located on global east-west maritime lanes.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that he looks forward to working closely with Dissanayaka to “strengthen our multifaceted cooperation for the benefit of our people and the entire region”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his desire to collaborate with the next president “to continue our traditional friendship (and) enhance mutual political trust”.
