• Any pact for financial cooperation should be modelled on the Rubber-Rice Pact  

By Yohan Perera  

Samagi Jana Balawegaya(SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said any agreement which Sri Lanka might get into with China to overcome its economic crisis has to be one which is similar to the Rubber Rice pact which was signed in the 1950s, an SJB MP said yesterday.  

 Dr. de Silva told a press conference that what matters now is what Sri Lanka would be giving to China in return of financial assistance which the latter might provide to overcome the present economic crisis.  
“There will not be any issue if Sri Lanka goes into an agreement similar to the Rubber Rice pact. What would be important is what Sri Lanka would give China in return of the funds. Agreements which Sri Lanka gets into with China should not be one which the latter had got into with Zambia. Zambia had to hand over its mineral mines to China in return of the funds,” Dr de Silva said.  

“One should not have a negative attitude towards China as it has been a good ally of Sri Lanka for a long time,” he added.  

However he said an agreement with the IMF would also be harmless as Sri Lanka would not have to give anything in return if funds are borrowed.  

“We from the SJB recommend that Sri Lanka goes for a debt restructuring programme for 48 months together with the IMF. This is our proposal but the government has not come up with its proposal though the new Minister of Finance has assured that the economic crisis could be overcome within weeks. As per the latest data released by the Central Bank , Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves stands at US 2 .8 billion . However it is actually 2.35 billion when the gold reserves which is $ 300 million is deducted. This amount is sufficient to bring down imports for next one and a half months,” he said.