Sri Lanka's new foreign secretary Aruni Wijewardane assumed duties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, as the island nation is grappling with the worst economic crisis and seeking help from other countries to tide over the difficulties.

She was appointed as the new foreign secretary on May 20.

After a simple ceremony following the assumption of duties, Wijewardane addressed the staff officers of the foreign ministry.

A member of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, Wijewardane counts 34 years in the foreign service and has held many positions in the foreign ministry in Colombo, at Sri Lanka Missions overseas and in international organisations.

Her service overseas includes the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, Sri Lanka High Commission in Malaysia and the Sri Lankan Embassy in the Philippines. She also served as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Austria and the Permanent Representative to UN Organisations in Vienna.

Wijewardane also served as the Director of the Secretariat of the policy making organs of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. She has an MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge, UK, where she was a British Chevening Scholar, a Master's degree from the University of Colombo and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Western Australia.

The economic crisis has triggered a political crisis in Sri Lanka and a demand for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The crisis forced Mahinda Rajapaksa, the elder brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign as the prime minister on May 9.