- China’s Finance Minister called Prez last Thursday
[ltr]President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated yesterday (16) that he had recently discussed Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring with Chinese Finance Minister Liu Kun, and that he is now optimistic the discussions in this regard would be concluded successfully.[/ltr]
[ltr]Obtaining China’s agreement to restructure Sri Lanka’s debt is crucial to gain the board-level approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $ 2.9 billion loan, for which Sri Lanka reached an IMF staff-level agreement in late August.[/ltr]
[ltr]Kun contacted President Wickremesinghe last Thursday (13) to discuss the debt restructuring negotiations that are underway between the two nations, and expressed China’s willingness to continue the discussions towards reaching a satisfactory conclusion.[/ltr]
[ltr]President Ranil Wickremesinghe had related the above exchange following an observation tour of the cultivated lands in Rathumada-Weerakandawala area in Siyambalanduwa Divisional Secretariat last morning (16). [/ltr]
[ltr]In a press release, the President’s Media Division (PMD) further mentioned that the delegation headed by State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe, who is currently in Washington DC, held initial discussions last Saturday (15) with the IMF and Sri Lanka’s three main bilateral creditors – China, India, and Japan. [/ltr]
[ltr]President Wickremesinghe added that the Government is giving priority to immediately solving the problem of the country’s bankruptcy, and to ensure food security.[/ltr]
[ltr]https://www.themorning.lk/prez-optimistic-debt-talks-will-succeed-after-call-with-china/[/ltr]