President Ranil Wickremesinghe on January 7 said that India’s response towards Sri Lanka’s request for debt restructuring is expected by the end of the month.
Sri Lanka, which is trying to secure a USD 2.9 billion bridge loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been trying to get financial assurances from its major creditors-China, Japan and India, which is the requisite for Colombo to get the bailout package.
While talking to the media, Wickremesinghe said that he is hopeful of obtaining the USD 2.9 billion IMF facility in the first quarter of this year.
Sri Lanka began its debt restructuring talks with its creditors from the September of last year as warranted on its agreement with the IMF for the USD 2.9 billion facility over 4 years.
The country began its negotiation talks with the if for a bail-out after being cash-strapped and having announced its first-ever sovereign debt default in April last year.
Wickremesinghe said earlier that the negotiation talks about debt restructuring between India and Sri Lanka has been successful and the country will also begin its discussions with China.
Wickremesinghe also mentioned that Sri Lanka is asking China to only extend the repayment date of the loan. The country is not asking China to slash its debt.
The IMF bailout has been put on pause as Sri Lanka is in talks with its creditors to meet the global lender’s condition for the facility.
Sri Lanka was hit by an unpredictable crisis in 2022 due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves that also sparked political turmoil in the country.
The IMF facility will allow the country to obtain help from the market and other lending institutions such as the World Bank.
Referring to the tough conditions going on in China, Wickremesinghe said that this will help in easing out the conditions in the country.
