COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s president announced Wednesday that he was requesting a suspension on foreign debt repayments until 2028, following a government default during the island nation’s extraordinary economic crisis two years ago.
A loss in foreign exchange reserves resulted in months of food and fuel shortages, as well as street protests, forcing the removal of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s predecessor in 2022.
Sri Lanka has now agreed to an International Monetary Fund bailout plan and is striving to rebuild public finances after the government defaulted in April of that year.
Wickremesinghe stated that talks with bilateral and private creditors are ongoing to restructure billions of dollars in loans and bonds.
“We plan to obtain temporary relief by not having to service our obligations until the end of December 2027,” Wickremesinghe told lawmakers in parliament.
Sri Lanka’s foreign debt stood at $52.65 billion at the end of September 2023, according to central bank figures.
