President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday said Sri Lanka would not kowtow before any foreign nation even as he called for electoral and constitutional reforms to make the country a progressive state and a stronger executive presidency to effectively combat extremism.
Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s seventh President on November 18 after he convincingly defeated the ruling United National Party (UNP) candidate Sajith Premadasa by more than 13 lakh votes, marking the return of the powerful Rajapaksa dynasty.
In his first ceremonial address to Parliament, the president outlined his Government’s vision for efficiency, eradication of corruption and crime with accelerated infrastructure development to revive the country’s economy.