World Bank Group President David Malpass met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday (08) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on the sidelines of the COP 27 climate change conference.

President Malpass and President Wickremesinghe discussed the challenging macroeconomic and social situation in Sri Lanka and the urgent need to stabilize the economy, the President’s Media Division reported. 

President Malpass emphasized the importance of timely and effective resolution of the ongoing debt crisis and encouraged President Wickremesinghe to continue engaging with Sri Lanka’s official bilateral and private sector creditors to promptly agree on debt restructuring.

President Malpass and President Wickremesinghe discussed ways to improve the efficiency of public expenditures and necessary reforms to the state-owned enterprises, particularly given the large size of the public sector in Sri Lanka.

President Malpass affirmed the World Bank Group’s (WBG) support to the Sri Lankan people in rebuilding their economy and creating a foundation for sustainable private sector-led growth through IDA concessional financing, technical assistance, and policy advice.

President Malpass and President Wickremesinghe discussed opportunities for improving agriculture production and value chains, including through effective programs supporting fertilizer use, as well as Sri Lanka’s large potential in the service sector, including tourism and education.

President Malpass and President Wickremesinghe also spoke about climate change and the financing needs of developing countries to pursue impactful adaptation and mitigation investment, the PMD reported.

Meanwhile in a Twitter message, the WBG President mentioned that agriculture and fertilizer reforms, fiscal improvements and debt reduction will be vital as the World Bank Group (WBG), including the International Development Association (IDA) of WBG works to support Sri Lanka.

“Good first meeting with President of Sri Lanka at COP27”, he tweeted.

WBG President Malpass and President Ranil Wickremesinghe have discussed the urgent need to stabilize the economy together with the challenging macroeconomic and social situation in Sri Lanka.

President Malpass has emphasized the importance of timely and effective resolution of the ongoing debt crisis and encouraged President Wickremesinghe to continue engaging with Sri Lanka’s official bilateral and private sector creditors to promptly agree on debt restructuring. 

The WBG President and President Wickremesinghe further discussed ways to improve the efficiency of public expenditures and necessary reforms to the state-owned enterprises, particularly given the large size of the public sector in Sri Lanka.

President Malpass has affirmed the World Bank Group’s (WBG) support to Sri Lankan people in rebuilding their economy and creating a foundation for sustainable private sector led growth through IDA concessional financing, technical assistance, and policy advice. 

Further, they have taken up the opportunities for improving agriculture production and value chains, including through effective programs supporting fertilizer use, as well as Sri Lanka’s large potential in the service sector, including tourism and education.

President Malpass and President Wickremesinghe also spoke about climate change and the financing needs of developing countries to pursue impactful adaptation and mitigation investment during the discussion.