COLOMBO, May 17: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Monday that the South Asian country's economy is extremely precarious with the next few months being a very hard time, and urged Sri Lankans to work together to overcome the difficulties.
The prime minister, while addressing the nation, said the government budget deficit for 2022 will be around 2.4 trillion Sri Lankan rupees (6.87 billion U.S. dollars).
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If the country is not able to purchase adequate diesel, there is a possibility that the daily power outage could increase to 15 hours, said Wickremesinghe.
He said there is also a severe shortage of medicines including those required for heart diseases as well as surgical equipment.
He said Sri Lankans can overcome this crisis if they work together and if a proper plan is implemented, adding that in the coming months, foreign allies would provide the support they have pledged for Sri Lanka.
(XINHUA)
