China’s assurance on restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt has been forwarded to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed the Parliament today (07).
Making a special address in Parliament, the President said that the EXIM Bank of China last night handed over a new letter of assurance pertaining to Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring.
He further stated that a letter of intent signed by himself and the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was thereafter immediately handed over to the IMF.
“We have completed our responsibilities. Now, I hope the IMF will do their part by the 3rd or 4th week of this month,” President Wickremesinghe said.
The President added that this will enable the first round of funds from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to be issued to Sri Lanka. (NewsWire)
Sri Lanka President tells Parliament that China's assurance on restructuring Sri Lanka's debt has been forwarded to the International Monetary Fund. "We have done our part now We hope IMF will now do their part by 3rd or 4th week of this month" pic.twitter.com/EmOqGyb3fB
— Azzam Ameen (@AzzamAmeen) March 7, 2023
- President Wickremesinghe informed Parliament that the Government received the letter of assurance from the Chinese Exhim Bank last night and the letter of intent signed by the Central Bank Governor and President Ranil Wickremesinghe was sent to the IMF the same night
- The President acknowledged people’s right to expression of speech, but will take strict measures to deal with any form of sabotage & urged not to allow another July 09th to occur in the country. He thanked the tri-forces and police for their commitment to preventing anarchy in the country
- President Wickremesinghe in his address to parliament said that with the provision of fertilizer, the country achieved a successful harvest during Yala and Maha seasons, & the export of agricultural products has gained a fair degree of normalcy & economic problems since June 2022 have been resolved to some extent
- The President told Parliament that the government took many extremely difficult economic measures to stabilize the economy & efforts are now being made to ensure economic growth. The suffering caused by this continues for everyone in society
- The President told Parliament that the government implemented various measures such as providing essential commodities, uninterrupted electricity supply, fertilizer to farmers, and additional funds for Samurdhi beneficiaries & restored tax policies implemented in 2019 to improve revenue as the emergency tax cuts implemented earlier led to a decrease in government revenue
- The President assured Parliament that once the IMF agreement is reached, the agreement would be tabled in Parliament along with the draft of the Government’s future plans & road map
- During his address to parliament, the President invited the Opposition to join the government’s efforts in stabilizing the country’s economy and assured that an election would be held once the country has stabilized