COLOMBO —  Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday said that he in principle is willing to form an all-party government with the political parties represented in Parliament.

He conveyed this message to the leaders of political parties aligned with the Sri Lankan government.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the structure, the tenure, and the portfolios of this all-party government have to be agreed upon after discussions, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Rajapaksa said the proposed all-party government is to be established after the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. He has invited the leaders of political parties of the ruling coalition for a meeting on Friday.

Sri Lanka has been gripped by an economic crisis with foreign debt estimated at USD 51 billion.

The country appears to be on the edge of a “humanitarian crisis”, according to the United Nations Development Program, as its financial troubles grow, with rising food prices, and the country’s coffers have run dry.

Several political parties of the ruling coalition and religious leaders have urged the Sri Lankan president to establish an all-party government to find a way out of the economic and political crisis. (ANI)