The head of Sri Lanka’s central bank expressed hope on Thursday that the government and the IMF might come to a preliminary agreement that could result in a bailout package when IMF representatives visit the island nation later this month.
Nandalal Weerasinghe, the governor of Sri Lanka’s central bank, said he hoped IMF officials and Sri Lanka’s government could “finalize and reach a staff-level agreement” on the policy package during their meetings.
Sri Lanka made the decision to halt debt repayment to foreign lenders in April. It has a $51 billion total foreign debt, of which $28 billion is due by 2027. The nation has declared that it must restructure all of its debt, according to AP.
Weerasinghe told reporters Thursday that the agreement being sought with the IMF would give them “a clear picture on debt sustainability and debt targets for us to achieve in the next 10 years.”
Once an agreement is reached, Weerasinghe said, Sri Lanka would approach sovereign bond holders and other external creditors.
“We hope all our creditors will support Sri Lanka once they see the strong macro program endorsed by the IMF,” he said.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, the new president of Sri Lanka, announced two weeks ago that his http://www.businesstoday.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/sample10.jpgistration had started talks with the IMF on a four-year rescue plan and had started finalizing a debt restructuring plan.
Wickremesinghe was elected last month to complete the rest of Rajapaksa’s five-year term, which ends in 2024. Wickremesinghe’s government is preparing a national policy roadmap for the next 25 years that aims to cut public debt and turn the country into a competitive export economy.
Wickremesinghe has stressed that Sri Lanka needs long-term solutions and a strong foundation to stop a recurrence of economic crises.
