Sri Lankan president expresses confidence in new national gov't

Sri Lankan president expresses confidence in new national gov't COLOMBO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua)-- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday assured that his new national government would be in power for the next five years.

Speaking at a special swearing in ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat in capital Colombo, Sirisena said that the new government would be stable and no one would be able to topple it.

Nineteen state ministers and 21 deputy ministers were sworn into Sri Lanka's national government on Wednesday during which Sirisena called on his government to work in unity.

Earlier on Wednesday, three cabinet ministers also took oaths before the president, making the total number of cabinet ministers in Sri Lanka's new government to 46 as 43 ministers were sworn in last week.

The national government was formed after the ruling United National Party which won a parliamentary election last month agreed to work with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in the new parliament.

A MoU between the two parties was signed late last month during which both parties agreed to work together for a period of two years. However Sirisena, who is the leader of the SLFP expressed confidence that the parties would work together for the next five years.

He also called on the UNP and the SLFP to work together to create a new political culture in the island nation.