Colombo, May 23 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday expanded the Cabinet with the induction of eight more ministers but he did not appoint a finance minister to handle the economic affairs of the crisis-hit nation.

The new ministers who were sworn in include Douglas Devananda - Minister of Fisheries; Bandula Gunawardana - Minister of Transportation & Highway, and Mass Media; Keheliya Rambukwella - Minister of Health, Water Supply; Ramesh Pathirana - Minister of Industries; and Mahinda Amaraweera - Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife and Wildlife Conservation, the Economy Next news portal tweeted.

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The other ministers were Vidura Wickramanayaka - Minister of Buddhasasana, Religion and Culture; Naseer Ahamed - Minister of Environment; and Roshan Ranasinghe - Minister of Irrigation, Sports and Youth.

President Rajapaksa on Friday had expanded his Cabinet to include nine more ministers in an effort to ensure stability until a full Cabinet is formed in the debt-ridden island nation engulfed in the worst economic crisis since its independence.

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The ministers were sworn in after a delay of more than a week since the president appointed new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Rajapaksa reappointed five-time former Sri Lankan prime minister Wickremesinghe, after his predecessor - the president's brother Mahinda Rajapaksa - resigned in the wake of violent attacks by his supporters on peaceful anti-government protesters.

His resignation automatically dissolved the Cabinet, leaving an administrative vacuum.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)