Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, June 22: The crisis-ridden Sri Lankan Prime Minister announced on Wednesday that he will speak with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and try to reach an agreement to get a new loan facility.
After months of food, fuel, and energy shortages, Wickremesinghe claimed that his country’s debt-ridden economy had “collapsed” and that it was unable to even buy foreign oil.
“The only safe option before us now is to hold discussions with the International Monetary Fund. In fact, this is our only option. We must take this path,” said PM Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe praised India for its assistance but noted that it was not ‘charitable contributions and that the island country, which was in a dire economic situation, needed a strategy to pay back its debts.
There is a severe lack of necessities like food, medication, cooking gas, and gasoline throughout the island nation as a result of Sri Lanka’s greatest economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948.
The virtually insolvent nation, which experienced a severe foreign currency crisis that led to a default on foreign debt, said in April that it would postpone paying back nearly 7 billion USD of its around 25 billion USD in outstanding foreign debt till 2026. 51 billion USD is owed by Sri Lanka to its international creditors.
Since January of this year, the Indian credit lines have given Sri Lanka a lifeline amidst rising public discontent over the deteriorating economic conditions.
The US Department of the Treasury will also send a team to Sri Lanka, according to Wickremesinghe, on Monday. By the end of July, we want to sign an official level agreement with the IMF.
He also outlined the strategies to help the island nation get through this situation.
