Someone needs to invite the main creditor countries to negotiations. We ask Japan to do so
– Tell President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe said that He will travel to Japan next month and plan to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. In addition to asking for help from his allies, Wickremesinghe It is also negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a loan package of between 2-3 billion dollars.
Sri Lanka, with a population of 22 million, is facing its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948. The crisis can be seen as a combined result of the lack of tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic and mismanagement. Unprecedented mass protests erupted in the country, resulting in the country’s then president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fleeing to Singapore in early July and subsequently resigning.
The country’s foreign exchange reserves are so tight that it has stopped importing basic foodstuffs, fuel and medicine. The deficit economy is exacerbated by the massive rise in the rate of inflation.
The International Monetary Fund estimated Sri Lanka’s total debt at $6.2 billion by the end of 2020.
Cover image source: Getty Images
