Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - In the midst of ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund , Sri Lanka's prime minist...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - In the midst of ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund, Sri Lanka's prime minister announced on Wednesday that the country will invite China, India, and Japan to a donor conference in an effort to solicit more international money for a solution to its escalating economic crisis (IMF).
The 22 million-person island nation is experiencing its greatest financial crisis in seven decades and is unable to import basic necessities like food, fuel, and medications due to a chronic lack of foreign currency.
Public anger has been stoked by the scarcity of basic needs and the inflationary spiral, which has prompted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's administration to step up its attempts to secure aid from the IMF and friendly nations.
"India, Japan, and China, who have long been allies, must lend their support. To find answers to Sri Lanka's issue, we intend to call a donor conference with their participation "Wickremesinghe addressed the house.
We'll ask the US for assistance, he added.
A team from the U.S. Treasury will visit the next week, according to Wickremesinghe, and a high-level delegation from India will arrive on Thursday for discussions about extra support from New Delhi.
India has so far contributed almost $3 billion in aid, including a $400 million swap and $1.5 billion in credit lines.
China, which has historically competed with New Delhi for control over the island in the Indian Ocean, is contemplating Sri Lanka's request to alter the conditions of a $1.5 billion yuan-denominated exchange to fund imports of necessities.
IMF SPEAKS
A staff-level agreement with the lender is anticipated by the end of the month after negotiations with an IMF team, which landed in Sri Lanka's commercial hub Colombo this week, have advanced.
Fiscal policy, debt restructuring, and direct cash transfers are only a few of the topics that were covered, he added.
Parallel to this, we have begun discussions for a debt restructuring structure, which we anticipate wrapping up in July.
In order to get its public finances back on track and gain access to bridge funding, Sri Lanka, which stopped making payments on its $12 billion in foreign debt in April, is requesting about $3 billion from the IMF.
When an agreement with the IMF was achieved, according to Wickremesinghe, his government would concentrate on a strategy to boost exports and stabilise the economy.
He urged opposition support for his economic recovery plan, stating that "it is no simple task to reconstruct a country with a completely shattered economy."
