Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulates new Indian counterpart Murmu

Colombo: Sri Lanka's newly-appointed President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday congratulated India's new President Droupadi Murmu, recalling the close ties between the two nations and underlining that her leadership offers "fresh impetus" to the joint endeavours to nurture and strengthen the cordial ties it enjoys.

Murmu, 64, took over as India’s 15th president on Monday, the country’s first tribal head of state and the second woman in the post.

“Your appointment to this chief responsibility in one of the largest democracies is testimony to the trust and confidence the government and the people have placed in your caliber and political acumen,” Wickremesinghe wrote in his message.

Recalling the close ties between the two nations, Wickremesinghe said, “Your leadership offers fresh impetus to our joint endeavors to nurture and strengthen the cordial ties we enjoy and I look forward to working closely with you towards this end.” Veteran politician Wickremesinghe on July 21 was sworn in as Sri Lanka's eighth president. He will serve out the rest of his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in November 2024.

Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe’s office also announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had congratulated him on being appointed president.

“I am counting on your activities as Head of State to foster further development of constructive bilateral cooperation in various spheres for the benefit of our peoples and in the interest of strengthening regional stability and security,” Putin said in a message.

Chinese president Xi Jinping and Putin are the only top leaders to congratulate Wickremesinghe so far since being elected to the highest office through Parliament last week.