Sri Lanka Appoints Foreign, Finance Ministers In Key Changes To Cabinet

Sri Lanka today announced key changes to its cabinet, including the appointment of a new foreign and finance minister.

Nine cabinet ministers and a state minister took oath before Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera was appointed finance and media minister, while former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake was sworn-in as the new foreign minister.

Mahinda Samarasinghe was appointed ports and shipping minister while, former cricketer-turned-politician Arjuna Ranatunga was appointed petroleum resources minister. Former Media Minister Gayantha Karunatillake took oath as the new lands minister.

This is the first cabinet reshuffle of the Sri Lankan government which took office in 2015.