Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Thursday, 4 December 2025 06:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Finance Ministry yesterday convened a donor forum with diplomatic missions, bilateral and multilateral development partners, and lending agencies to review the current situation, outline the way forward, and coordinate support for national relief, rescue, and restoration efforts following the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.
The forum was Co-Chaired by Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe and Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma.
The Treasury Secretary outlined the damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah, covering all sectors of the country, while emphasising the Government’s intention to rebuild the country in a broader framework, moving from immediate response to longer-term interventions.
It was further highlighted that development assistance from multilateral and bilateral lenders is crucial, particularly in the form of swift humanitarian support, including essential relief supplies such as food, grants, concessional financing, and short- to medium-term support. The CBSL Governor highlighted the importance of external financial support, including concessional financing, given the constraints posed by the shrinking economic sectors and the limited capacity for domestic borrowing.
Furthermore, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) authorities requested partners to engage the international community to promote visits to Sri Lanka to assist the efforts of the tourism sector.
The Finance Ministry said that development partners had reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to assist Sri Lanka during this critical period. The representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) informed that the country can have quick access to approximately $ 350 million, the sixth tranche of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), within two weeks’ time.
Furthermore, the development partners committed to providing a wide range of immediate assistance, including disaster relief, emergency services, and humanitarian support such as food supplies, clean drinking water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and emergency medical care, to stabilise affected communities by addressing basic survival needs and preventing disease.
It is reported that few countries have already fielded the disaster relief and humanitarian support missions.
Furthermore, the development partners agreed to repurpose and redesign existing loan facilities to support medium-term rehabilitation of economic and social infrastructure, including major roads, bridges, irrigation systems, and transport networks, while exploring possibilities to provide new loan and grant facilities for the country’s long-term development requirements.
The World Bank has already undertaken to carry out a rapid post-disaster assessment. Development partners discussed the importance of the Post-Disaster Needs/Damage Assessment to quantify damages across housing, infrastructure, agriculture, and services to mobilise the funds from the medium term to longer-term development requirements.
Sri Lanka expressed its profound appreciation for the proactive engagement and solidarity demonstrated by all international development partners as the country pursues urgent measures to restore essential services, support affected families, and rebuild Sri Lanka, the Finance Ministry said.
