Foreign Minister Jaishankar likely to visit Sri Lanka on January 19, talks will be held on debt restructuring
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Sri Lanka is seeking financial assurances from China, Japan and India, along with an attempt to secure a $2.9 billion ‘bridge loan’ from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that Sri Lanka will hold debt restructuring talks with India during the upcoming visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Colombo. Sri Lanka is facing its worst financial crisis in decades. Sri Lanka is seeking financial assurances from China, Japan and India, along with an attempt to secure a $2.9 billion ‘bridge loan’ from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF bailout package has been put on hold as Sri Lanka is in talks with debt-lending nations regarding meeting the global lender’s conditionality for the facility.
Addressing trade unions on Saturday, President Wickremesinghe said his government has completed debt restructuring talks with Japan and will hold such meetings with India this month. Wickremesinghe said, “On January 19, India’s External Affairs Minister is expected to visit and we will continue debt restructuring talks with India.” Details of Jaishankar’s visit to Colombo have not been announced, but his visit to Sri Lanka likely to hold talks with the top leadership of At the time of need, India had given financial assistance of about four billion dollars to Colombo last year.
India has announced a $900 million loan to Sri Lanka to shore up its depleting foreign reserves after the financial crisis unfolded. India also offered a $500 million line of credit to Sri Lanka for fuel purchases. Considering the seriousness of the situation, the ‘credit line’ was later increased to $700 million. President Wickremesinghe has said that the only option left with Sri Lanka is a bailout package from the IMF. The President said that he is waiting for IMF assistance in 3-4 tranches. He told trade union leaders, “I want to get this country out of crisis as soon as possible.” Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022. With the dwindling of foreign exchange reserves, political turmoil broke out in the country, leading to the ouster of the Rajapaksa family from power.
Disclaimer:Prabhasakshi has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
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