The Committee on Parliamentary Business has decided to take up for debate in Parliament the Resolution for the implementation of Sri Lanka’s External Debt Restructuring Agreements, on 02 and 03 July 2024.
According to a Parliament statement, this was decided at the meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business held this morning (June 28) under the chairmanship of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and with the participation of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
Accordingly, the Parliament is scheduled to meet on Tuesday (02 July) at 9.30 am and it has been decided to hold the debate until 5.00 pm. The President is also scheduled to make a special statement to Parliament on that day regarding the implementation of external debt restructuring agreements.
The debate will continue for the second day on Wednesday (03 July) from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm. Subsequently, the vote on this resolution is scheduled to be held at 5.00 pm on the same day.
This resolution is submitted to the Parliament to grant the necessary permission to the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policy to implement the Final Agreement reached between Sri Lanka and the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) on Debt Restructuring and the Final Amendment Agreement to Loan Agreements reached between Sri Lanka and the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM Bank) this week.
Sri Lanka signed deals with China and other creditor nations to restructure about $10 billion in bilateral debt on Wednesday (June 26), helping it approach the end of a restructuring process that began in September 2022 after its reserves hit record lows and forced it to default on foreign debt for the first time.
Sri Lankan officials in Paris inked the agreement with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) co-chaired by Japan, India and France which have lent a combined $5.8 billion. A separate agreement was also signed with China EXIM Bank to rework $4.2 billion of debt. (Newswire)
