The Sri Lankan Government’s successful debt sustainability process with bilateral creditors will provide the country with an advantage of approximately US $ 17 billion, Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry said.
The development is also expected to facilitate successful negotiations on international sovereign debts as well, the Minister said, addressing a media briefing held at the Presidential Media Centre on Friday.
“We have now successfully completed debt restructuring with bilateral creditor countries. India, Japan, and France formed an Official Creditor Committee (OCC) for managing bilateral debt and we also held talks with China. As a result of these efforts, Sri Lanka has achieved a sustainable debt repayment situation, gaining an advantage of approximately US $ 17 billion and numerous other benefits,” the Minister said.
Ministery Sabry stressing that comprehensive debt restructuring must adhere to a specific timeline set by the IMF, said that the total debt burden should be reduced to 95% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Meanwhile, the current interest payments on foreign loans should be limited to 4.5% of the GDP, the Minister said. (Newswire)