Govt. open to discuss with all to restructure debt

Wednesday, 2 February 2022 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Cabinet Co-Spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana confirms Govt. in dialogue with IMF
Says Govt. discussing with World Bank, ADB and other agencies too
Expresses hope forex crisis will be resolved within 6 months
Asserts Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor are leading dialogues with individual lenders

The Government yesterday reiterated it was open for discussion with all multilateral and bilateral organisations to restructure debt, whilst confirming it has been in talks with the International Monetary Board (IMF) as well.

“The Government has been in discussion with the IMF for a certain period of time to restructure the debt of the country. We are open to all institutions and ideas,” Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Plantation Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing.

Although, there was no decision taken yet to seek support from the IMF, he said the option to seek support had been discussed at several cabinet meetings in recent weeks.

“We keep our doors open. We speak to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other agencies as well,” he added.

The Minister also pointed out that the $ 500 million International Sovereign Bond (ISB) was paid on time last month, while another $ 1 billion bond was due in July.

“We are in discussion with all the agencies. Hopefully we will be able to manage the current foreign reserves crisis within the six months’ time. We are trying to manage the situation, whilst taking efforts to restructure the debts,” Dr. Pathirana said.

Asked if the Government had appointed a Ministerial Committee to negotiate debt with the individual countries, he said there was nothing specific as such, adding that Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal are leading dialogue with relevant authorities.

“The Finance Minister is spearheading that campaign whilst speaking to different agencies. The Central Bank Governor is also actively involved,” Dr. Pathirana said.