Following the resignation of Sri Lanka’s president shortly after reaching Singapore on Thursday, Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was sworn in Friday as acting president, his office said.

Wickremesinghe, 73, took his oath of office before chief justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Wickremesinghe’s office said in a brief statement.

Sri Lanka’s president submitted his resignation shortly after reaching Singapore on Thursday, days after the head of state fled protests triggered by his country’s worst-ever economic crisis.