Sri Lanka has sent a delegation to Washington DC to hold discussions with the IMF, as the country announced last week that they would default on debt repayments.
A delegation including Finance Minister Ali Sabry, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene left Sri Lanka this morning to participate in discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The talks are scheduled to take place between April 19 to 24.
The finance ministry and governor of the Central Bank announced last week the government would no longer be able to pay its international debt obligations, effectively defaulting on US$51 billion of foreign debt.
"It has come to a point that making debt payments are challenging and impossible,” the newly appointed Central Bank Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe told reporters this morning. “The best action that can be taken is to restructure debt and avoid a hard default."
"This will be on a temporary basis until we come to an agreement with creditors and with the support of a programme with the IMF," he added, as anti-government protests continued across Sri Lanka’s capital.
Sri Lanka’s finance ministry announced the government would “suspend normal debt servicing,” adding that "the government is taking the emergency measure only as a last resort in order to prevent further deterioration of the republic's financial position".
According to the statement, the failure to pay will be on all "affected debts," citing bonds issued in international capital markets, bilateral credits, and foreign loans. The total amount is thought to be approximately US$51 billion.
Read more at the Daily Mirror
