Sri Lanka is committed to repaying its debt within the 2027-2042 schedule, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday, adding that successful debt restructuring negotiations will bring annual external debt payments down to 4% of GDP. The island nation defaulted on its foreign debt in May 2022 after its economy ran into an unprecedented financial crisis triggered by a severe foreign exchange shortage. Sri Lanka kicked off negotiations with its creditors after securing a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September 2022 but has still to reach an agreement with private bondholders. The country reached an agreement with its bilateral creditors including India, China and Japan last November.

Source: bd News24 March 06, 2024 13:13 UTC