COLOMBO: President Ranil Wickremesinghe said Wednesday that Sri Lanka will begin the next round of talks with creditors in the third week of April, adding that the debt-stricken nation has begun receiving funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Wickremesinghe told parliament that the IMF released the first $330 million of a nearly $3 billion bailout approved on Monday.
He said this would create low-interest credit, restore foreign investors’ confidence, and build a strong new economy.
The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and other lenders expected to provide $3.75 billion after the IMF bailout. Sri Lanka can also restructure a large portion of its $84 billion public debt.
Wickremesinghe said Sri Lankan officials will begin a transparent round of talks with bondholders. And bilateral creditors in the third week of April.
Wickremesinghe also wants to lower inflation to 4%-6% by mid-2023. February’s NCPI rose 53.6% annually.
Sri Lanka’s 17th IMF bailout was the third since its civil war ended in 2009.
At the start of last year, economic mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic left Sri Lanka short of dollars for essential imports, plunging it into its worst financial crisis in 70 years.
On Tuesday, senior IMF official Masahiro Nozaki said the current bailout will used for government spending.
