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Sri Lanka’s president was forced to backtrack this week, after his claim that Japan had agreed to co-chair a meeting with negotiators over Colombo’s international debt was denied by government officials in Tokyo.
"We have not reached such an agreement. It might be their wishful thinking but the situation remains unchanged," a senior Japanese government official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Reuters said the denial came after less than an hour after Wickremesinghe's office claimed Japan had agreed to co-chair a debt summit.
It later issued a clarification, stating that Sri Lanka had merely requested Japan co-chair the summit.
“Japan will stand ready to provide full support for Sri Lanka's debt restructuring providing that necessary conditions are met," the Japanese government official said.
Japan holds around US$3.5 billion of Sri Lanka's total bilateral debt of about US$10 billion, amounting to 4.4% of the island's GDP, according to Reuters.
