Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa suspended the assembly through a notification.

In an unusual move, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has prorogued Parliament for one week and left for Singapore on an unscheduled visit.

There was no immediate comment from the government on Rajapaksa's decision to suspend Parliament for a week.

Parliament, which ended its sessions on Friday, was originally set to convene on January 11. It will now convene on January 18.

President Rajapaksa, through an extraordinary gazette notification dated December 12, suspended the assembly.

“I do by this proclamation prorogue Parliament with effect from midnight of the Twelfth day of December, Two Thousand and Twenty One and hereby fix the Eighteenth day of January Two Thousand and Twenty Two at 10 am for the commencement of the next session and summon parliament to meet…..” the gazette notification read.

Hours after proroguing Parliament, Gotabaya, 72, left for Singapore on an unscheduled visit.

Presidential officials said that he was on a private visit, believed to be for medical purposes.

Two key issues billed for discussions during Monday's Cabinet meeting would not be taken up, energy minister Udaya Gammanpila told reporters.

The weekly Cabinet meeting was to discuss the possibility of Sri Lanka going for a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in view of the severe foreign currency crisis.