21 September 2022 12:00 am Views - 169
In response to a recent request from the Government of Sri Lanka, the High Commission of India in Colombo held the first round of discussions on September 15 in Colombo with the Government of Sri Lanka on restructuring Sri Lanka’s bilateral official debt to India, the Indian High Commission said. “The discussions held in a cordial atmosphere symbolise India’s support to early conclusion and approval of a suitable IMF Programme for Sri Lanka, for which financing assurances from creditors to make Sri Lanka’s debt sustainable are required.
India will continue to remain closely engaged with relevant Sri Lankan stakeholders,” the High Commission said.
Meanwhile, issuing another statement in response to media queries regarding reports on no further financial support from India, a spokesperson from the Indian High Commission said that India will continue to be supportive of Sri Lanka in all possible ways, in particular by promoting long-term investments from India in key economic sectors in Sri Lanka for its early economic recovery and growth.
The full statement:
We have seen the relevant media reports. We would like to emphasise that India has extended unprecedented bilateral assistance amounting close to USD 4 billion this year for ameliorating the difficulties faced by the people of Sri Lanka. India has also advocated to other bilateral and multilateral partners supporting Sri Lanka expeditiously in its current economic difficulties. We have also noted the conclusion of a Staff Level Agreement between IMF and the Government of Sri Lanka. Its further approval within the IMF is contingent upon, inter alia, on Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability. We continue to be supportive of Sri Lanka in all possible ways, in particular by promoting long-term investments from India in key economic sectors in Sri Lanka for its early economic recovery and growth. In addition our bilateral development cooperation projects in Sri Lanka, which cumulatively total about US$ 3.5 bn, are ongoing. Sri Lankans also continue to avail of scholarships for higher education and skills training in premier Indian institutions. These aspects of our close and long-standing cooperation with Sri Lanka also contribute to the efforts for addressing Sri Lanka’s current economic difficulties, it added.