President Ranil Wickremesinghe, speaking on Sri Lanka’s ongoing debt restructuring program, stated that the government has already completed the negotiations with Japan – one of the three main bilateral creditors of the island nation including China and India.

He made this remark during a meeting with the trade union representatives at the President’s Office held yesterday afternoon (13).

President Wickremesinghe also mentioned that Sri Lanka has held discussions with China’s EXIM Bank and by now the government has commenced exchanging views in this regard.

“India’s Foreign Minister is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka on the 19th [of January] to discuss the debt restructuring process. We are proceeding with these activities gradually,” he added.

Speaking further, President Wickremesinghe mentioned that following these negotiations, Sri Lanka is expected to receive USD 2.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in three or four instalments.

“In addition, we have the capacity to get USD 5 billion from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank etc. In addition, by the end of the year, a number of different programs are scheduled to recommence with Japan. Hence, we should keep on continuing these activities.”

Stating that the only option Sri Lanka has left now is to seek the support of the IMF, the Head of State noted that the country cannot recover otherwise. “Hence, we must decide if we are to get their support or remain stagnated in this collapsed economic situation. My attempt is to reinvigorate the collapsed economy of the country.”