Sri Lanka is expected to announce the debt-restructuring strategy with commercial creditors in April Governor Central Bank, Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe said.
“In April we will announce how we are going to meet those medium-to-long-term (debt) targets. That is the next step. When you see the staff level agreement published - that will contain our commitment to debt restructuring and that will also reveal medium-term debt targets for us to restore debt sustainability on a long-term basis,” Central Bank Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe told Reuters. The crisis-hit island has secured financing assurances from all its major bilateral creditors, including India and China, and so had set the stage for the IMF to give its final approval for a $2.9 billion, four-year bailout package on March 20, the multilateral lender said on Tuesday. The bailout is the culmination of months of negotiations as Sri Lanka looks to emerge from its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades. Weerasinghe said the country would expedite negotiations with commercial creditors and announce the debt restructuring strategy in consultation with them, before finalising the debt restructuring terms.
“We are trying to finalise this in about the next six months’ time, so before the next (IMF) review will be completed,” he said.
Add new comment