(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Sri Lanka says it remains committed to continue to engage with all creditor nations and other stakeholders in a transparent manner based on the principle of comparable treatment.
Speaking at the launch of the Debt Restructuring Negotiation Process on Sri Lanka by India, Japan, and France, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said the event marks the beginning of a coordinated effort of official bilateral presentation to make swift progress in resolving Sri Lanka’s distress.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who attended the event virtually, said that Sri Lanka has made a series of critical policy adjustments in accordance with the extended arrangement under the EFF.
“I am also submitting the extended arrangement to Parliament for its approval. Thereafter, the government will bring legislation incorporating the main features of this arrangement,” he said.
However, the President said that domestic policy efforts in this context are insufficient to resolve the deep imbalances in Sri Lanka’s economy.
He thanked the authorities of the Paris Club as well as non-Paris Club nations for offering timely financing assurances and the consent that enabled the IMF to approve Sri Lanka’s request for a fund-supported comprehensive economic adjustment program.
President Wickremesinghe also thanked private creditors for supporting this effort.
He said that his Government remains committed to continue to engage with all creditor nations and other stakeholders in a transparent manner based on the principle of comparable treatment.
The President said he hopes that Sri Lanka’s other bilateral and multilateral partners as well as commercial creditors will also join in providing assistance to Sri Lanka to successfully complete the debt restructuring process.
“We rely on your continued and unwavering support to re-emerge from this crisis and establish a solid foundation enabling us to uplift the socio-economic well-being of our population and regain our national pride,” the President said.
India’s Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister of Japan Suzuki Shunichi and Emmanuel Moulin, Director General of the Treasury, France, and Shehan Semasinghe, State Minister of Finance, Sri Lanka, were present in the meeting.
