France in talks with creditors

• France in talks with creditors
• France to continue with grants  

 By Easwaran Rutnam   

France, which is part of the Paris Club, is in talks with Sri Lanka’s creditors in an attempt to ensure a solution is reached for the financial crisis sooner than later.   
The newly appointed French Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jean-François Pactet, told a select group of journalists last evening, that an immediate solution will be in the best interest of everyone, including Sri Lanka.   

Pactet said that loans from France to Sri Lanka were placed on standby owing to Sri Lanka defaulting on its foreign debt. However, the envoy asserted that the loans will resume once the crisis in Sri Lanka is resolved. He said the Paris Club has been working proactively since last August and is even today on the Sri Lankan issue. “The Paris Club has been sharing information proactively with other creditors,” Jean-François Pactet said.

It was reported recently that the Paris Club creditor nations are proposing a 10-year moratorium on Sri Lankan debt and another 15 years of debt restructuring as a formula to resolve the current financial crisis in the island nation   

“We are not waiting for the creditors to come to a position and share that position. We are reaching out intensively to other creditors in order to come to a solution as soon as possible,” Pactet told Daily Mirror in response to a question.   

The Ambassador added that France is continuing to provide grants to Sri Lanka in the interim period.   

The grants are small but the Ambassador said it helps fund key areas in Sri Lanka.   

Sri Lanka will miss the December deadline set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure board approval for financial assistance.  

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe had said this week that Sri Lanka is working hard to complete the required process by early next year.