Sri Lankan President to present new govt's policy statement on Aug 20

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will present the new government's Policy Statement during the first session of the ninth Parliament on August 20, it was announced.

On Friday, the Department of Communication of Parliament said President Rajapaksa is scheduled to chair the inaugural meeting at 3 p.m., after which he will read out the statement, reports the Daily Mirror newspaper.

The President will be received by the Speaker of Parliament and the Secretary-General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake at the main staircase of the Parliament building, followed by the hoisting of the Presidential flag.

The ninth Parliament will convene at 9.30 a.m. starting with electing the Speaker of Parliament followed by the members taking oaths.

Thereafter, the Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Chairperson of Committees will be elected respectively.

In the crucial August 5 general elections, the President's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) won 145 seats off the 225-member Parliament.

It became the single largest party to gain a nearly two-thirds majority in Parliament.

SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as the new Prime Minister on August 9, while the new Cabinet took oath three days later.