Colombo, Apr 14 (IANS): Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called for a fresh start as the crisis-hit island nation celebrated the traditional Sinhala and Tamil new year, which fell on Friday.

Wickremesinghe on Thursday said in a new year message that Sri Lankans took part in the traditional new year rituals in 2022 amid the worst economic crisis faced by the country, Xinhua News Agency reported.

"Last year, amid the unprecedented economic crisis which disrupted our daily lives, we partook in the new year rituals with untold hardship and were confined to a struggle in alleviating from this adversity," he said.

Wickremesinghe said that he is gratified that 2023 has presented a salubrious environment for Sri Lankans, and therefore the country should strive to be more affluent and prosperous than today.

"We can undoubtedly achieve this aspiration by unitedly moving forward as one Sri Lankan nation. Accordingly, despite differences in political affiliation, ethnicity and religion, a fresh beginning is imperative to create a brighter future for us and our nation, in this new year," he said.

Traditional new year celebrations were held across the country this year, far more than what was seen in 2022.

Sri Lanka is currently recovering from an economic crisis, which saw a shortage of fuel and gas, and daily power cuts in 2022.