President in Parliament: Three key highlights

November 10, 2022 at 1:47 PM

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would not face food security issues next year.

Speaking in Parliament today (10), the President, however, warned that between 20-30 million people will be affected and many will die in the Horn of Africa.

President Wickremesinghe further said it was essential to urge the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Western nations to assist them on the same terms as they offered help to Ukraine during the Russian invasion. 

President Ranil Wickremesinghe further informed the Parliament that a report has been called on renewable energy potential for the Northern Province and the possibility of green hydrogen.

“If green hydrogen is obtained on a competitive basis then it will boost the Northern economy,” he said.

The President pointed out that this should be explored as a bulk of Sri Lanka’s renewable energy will be from Puttalam all the way up to Trincomalee.

“We are also looking at other development projects, such as the Trincomalee project and Eastern Province for tourism,” he added

Further, President Ranil Wickremesinghe invited all Tamil political parties to a discussion to address the issues faced by the Tamils in the North and East.

Suggesting that the discussion can be scheduled for next week, he said the issues must be resolved amicably without outside interference.

“We are all Sri Lankans. Let us work together and get this problem out of the way. This matter has to be settled and let’s settle it,” he stressed.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe added that they should look to settle these issues prior to the country’s 75th independence celebrations next year. (NewsWire)