President tells in Parliament “Govt. ready to overcome worst crisis”

 President Ranil Wickremesinghe

• In special statement, lists measures taken so far to restore stability and revive socio-economic growth
• Details talks with global leaders and institutions to obtain support 

President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday, making a special statement in Parliament, reiterated that the Government is ready to overcome the worst economic crisis in history even amidst shocks.

He also invited all parties to join the country’s rebuilding program irrespective of their personal grudges of the past. 

During his speech, the President unveiled a fourfold strategic plan to recover from the crisis. He listed them as; a) Reaching a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund; b) Reaching a common agreement on debt restructuring with countries like Japan, India and China and private creditors who have given us loans; c) Thereafter stabilising the economy by obtaining loan assistance from the IMF and other countries after certification from the IMF; and d) Working to raise the country’s economy to a developed level through a general plan after stabilising the economy. 

Noting that the first step has already been successful, the President said: “The foundation is being laid to make the second step a success.”

He updated the Parliament about his recent visits to Japan and the Philippines as well as bilateral and multilateral discussions in Tokyo on the side-lines of Japan’s former Premier Shinzo Abe’s funeral and the Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting in Manila respectively.

He said that Japan has agreed to play a leading role as a mediator in the debt restructuring process of Sri Lanka and it was a good sign. “We have already commenced the preliminary discussion with China. Following the Chinese Communist Party convention, we will recommence the discussions. 

“It is very significant that Japan has agreed to mediate to discuss the debt restructuring program with China. China has been supporting us since ancient times and we hope they will do the same at this critical juncture,” Wickremesinghe told Parliament.

He also referred to talks with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tokyo and said: “We have a positive response from Modi to overcome the economic crisis.” 

“I strived to get maximum benefit to Sri Lanka by meeting state leaders from UK, Japan and Philippines, representatives from international organisations and Finance Ministers,” he added.

“Many of them expressed their support to overcome the crisis situation after I explained the practices and plans we follow to recover from the economic crisis,” he said. 

The President said Sri Lanka hopes to come to a common agreement with creditor nations including Japan, China and India.

“After reaching an agreement with the countries that have granted us loans, we are also holding talks with private creditors like the London Club. We hope to reach an agreement with them regarding debt restructuring. Thereafter we can get the IMF Executive Board approval,” he said.

The President revealed that the ADB has already expressed its willingness to provide with a $ 500 million loan after obtaining the IMF approval and Sri Lanka could seek further assistance from institutions such as the World Bank and simultaneously, the opportunity to obtain bilateral loans will be possible by negotiating with other countries that provide credit facilities.

“We have requested the International Development Association to assist us to get concessional financing as Sri Lanka currently lacks the credit worthiness to borrow on market terms from World Bank or any other institution,” the President said.

He also listed various challenges Sri Lanka is facing in reviving the collapsed economy and detailed efforts to curb rising inflation, revive Government revenue and restructure State-owned enterprises. Measures to expand tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and exports and the overall economy were also explained.

Focusing on national unity, the President stressed that politicians and parties can achieve their goals only if the country recovers from the economic crisis.

“It will be possible to make this journey stronger and faster only with the support of all of you, so again I request you to forget the old vendettas and join this journey. Criticism is easy and to see the mistakes of others. It's easy to protest, but finding solutions is difficult,” the President told the Parliament.

“I request again for all of you to join a common program to build the country through the National Assembly of Parliament, ‘Jana Sabhava’ which is to be established soon, and Parliamentary Sectoral Committees,” he added.