UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, Sri Lankan President discuss strengthening ties by phone
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday discussed means to strengthen relations between the two countries.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan phoned Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, congratulating him on his election as the country’s new president, WAM news agency reported.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also expressed his wishes to the Sri Lankan President for success in leading the country towards stability and peace and overcoming the circumstances it is going through.
The phone conversation also dealt with bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and ways of developing them, as well as a number of regional and international issues of common concern.
On July 21, Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president following a wave of protests that toppled the former regime.
In mid-July, Wickremesinghe was appointed acting president after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, despite thousands of protesters demanding that the two men step down.
According to official results, Wickremesinghe, who has been prime minister for six times, won 134 votes in a parliamentary vote in which three candidates competed.
His main challenger, former education minister Dullas Alahapperuma, received 82 votes, and the third candidate, right-wing Anura Desanaymeh, received only three, giving Wickremesinghe the absolute majority of votes.
