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SL to present economic woes, debt structuring plans to creditors
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IANS | 23 Sep, 2022
Sri Lanka will on Friday present its economic woes, debt restructuring
plans and a deal that it struck with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) to external creditors in an attempt to recover from the ongoing
economic crisis, the worst since the island nation gained independence
in 1948.
Officials from the Central Bank of Sri
Lanka, Finance Ministry higher-ups and its legal advisers Clifford
Chance will make the virtual presentation to all creditors. including
India and Japan which holds around $4.9 billion of Colombo's debt.
The
presentation comes a day after 16 diplomats and six missions virtually
joined from New Delhi assured Sri Lanka that support would be given for
the country to overcome the grave financial crisis.
"The foreign
ambassadors assured President Ranil Wickremesinghe of their support to
get IMF assistance for Sri Lanka to recover from the economic crisis,"
the President's Office announced after Ambassadors' Forum on Debt
Restructuring and IMF Program held on Thursday.
The envoys,
members and non-members of Paris Club, expressed confidence that Sri
Lanka would be able to get out of the dire situation, the Office added.
The
Paris Club comprises a group of officials from major creditor countries
which had welcomed the staff level agreement between Sri Lanka and the
IMF for a 48-month plan under extended fund facility to restore
macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability.
Earlier this
month, the President's Office announced that the Paris Club also would
coordinate with non-Paris Club bilateral creditors to ensure financial
security for Sri Lanka.
Also in September, Sri Lanka reached the
preliminary deal with the IMF to get a $2.9 billion in loans over four
years but the disbursement is subject to agreement of the country's
creditor on debt restructuring.
India, Sri Lanka's closest
neighbour which has offered nearly $4 billion in financial assistance
since January, has canvassed with other countries for the support of the
island that had suffered three decades of war, the Easter Sunday attack
in April 2019, Covid pandemic and political crisis which had blocked
its main foreign income generators including tourism, foreign labour and
exports.
"We continue to be supportive of Sri Lanka in all
possible ways, in particular by promoting long-term investments from
India in key economic sectors in Sri Lanka for its early economic
recovery and growth," the Indian High Commission stated on Tuesday.
"India
has also advocated to other bilateral and multilateral partners
supporting Sri Lanka expeditiously in its current economic difficulties.
We have also noted the conclusion of a Staff Level Agreement between
IMF and Government of Sri Lanka. Its further approval within IMF is
contingent upon, inter alia, on Sri Lanka's debt sustainability."
Faced
with the severe financial crisis which led to the shortages of
essentials like food, fuel, medicine, as well as long hours of power
cuts, Sri Lanka defaulted its debts in April.
In protest, people
from all walks of life took to the streets, triggering the resignation
of the former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa-led cabinet in July.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had also fled the country.
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Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
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84.35
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106.35
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102.90 |
Euro
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89.35 |
Japanese
Yen |
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53.40 |
As on 12 Oct, 2024 |
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