Sri Lanka Crisis LIVE Updates: President Wickremesinghe to appoint lawmaker Dinesh Gunawardena as next prime minister

According to the sources, Leader of the House in the Sri Lankan Parliament 73-year-old Gunewardena is tipped to be the prime minister. He was appointed as Home Minister in April by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. A stalwart of Sri Lankan politics, Gunawardena has also served as the foreign minister and education minister.

The previous Cabinet will function till a national government is agreed upon once Parliament convenes and then a Cabinet reshuffle will take place. Wickremesinghe, 73, who was on Thursday sworn in as the country's eighth president after he won a parliamentary ballot, has called for bipartisanship to address the unprecedented economic crisis the country is facing.

Sri Lanka's new President Ranil Wickremesinghe will swear in his Cabinet on Friday comprising members of the previous government including Dinesh Gunewardena, a close ally of the Rajapaksa family, who is tippled to be the next prime minister.

"We have been at the forefront of extending economic assistance to Sri Lanka as per what they require," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a weekly media briefing. He said India extended a significant amount of assistance to Sri Lanka at its "time of need”, adding "we will continue to stand by the people of Sri Lanka in whatever manner we can".

As the new Sri Lankan president looks at pulling the country out of its economic crisis, India on Thursday said it will continue to assist the island nation and support its people in their quest for stability and prosperity through democratic means.