People shout slogans during a protests against Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in front of the Presidential Secretariat building, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 12, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO, April 13 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's prime minister offered talks on Wednesday with protesters calling for the government to step down over its handing of an economic crisis as the opposition threatened to bring a no-confidence motion against it in parliament.

The island nation of 22 million people is in the throes of its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948, with a foreign currency shortage stalling imports of fuel and medicines and bringing hours of power cuts a day.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets, many staging a sit-in in the commercial capital, Colombo, to denounce the government led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

"The prime minister is ready to start talks with the protesters at Galle Face Green," his office said in a statement, referring to a protest site that has become the focus of discontent.

"If protesters are ready to discuss their proposals to resolve the challenges currently facing the nation, then the prime minister is ready to invite their representatives for talks," the office said.

Some of the protesters at the tent encampment, which has been growing over recent days with food stalls, medical facilities and phone charging stations, said this week they would only leave if the Rajapaksas stepped down.

Sri Lanka is due to begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week for a loan programme, after months of delay as the crisis worsened.

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