Sri Lanka finalises debt restructuring agreement after financial crisis
The Hindu
Sri Lanka finalizes $5.8 billion debt restructuring agreement with bilateral lenders, including India and China, to secure IMF bailout.
Sri Lanka's government said on June 26 it has finalised a long-delayed debt restructuring agreement for $5.8 billion with its bilateral lenders, including India and China, in Paris to meet a key condition of an IMF bailout.
This was announced by President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office, which said the agreement grants significant debt relief allowing Sri Lanka to allocate funds to essential public services and secure concessional financing for its development needs.
“Sri Lanka reached a final restructuring agreement for $5.8 billion with its bilateral lenders’ official creditor committee in Paris,” the President’s office said in a statement.
The statement came ahead of a televised address to the nation later tonight by Mr. Wickremesinghe, who has steered the effort to take the island out of the economic crisis since Sri Lanka declared its first-ever sovereign default in 2022.
Mr. Wickremesinghe, who also holds the portfolio as the finance minister, is expected to contest the presidential election in the coming months.
It is understood that Mr. Wickremesinghe, 75, will ‘declare an end to bankruptcy’ following the agreement reached with bilateral creditors and private bondholders on external debt restructuring.
State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe announced that the Sri Lankan authorities are also in the process of signing bilateral debt treatment agreements between Sri Lanka and the Export-Import Bank of China.
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