Colombo Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa left on Thursday on an official visit to Beijing, where he will meet Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the debt restructuring deal of the island nation with China.
China is Sri Lanka's largest bilateral lender, holding 52 percent of the $40 billion foreign debt when Sri Lanka announced its sovereign default in 2022.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced on Wednesday that debt restructuring deals with bilateral lenders, including India and China, have been finalized in Paris, describing the development as an "important milestone" that will bolster international confidence in the cash-strapped island nation. .
The debt restructuring agreement involves giving time until 2043 to repay $4.2 billion of Chinese loans, most of which were withdrawn during Rajapaksa's presidency (2005-2015).
On Thursday, the Daily Mirror cited sources to report that the visit of the 78-year-old patriarch of the Rajapaksa dynasty was at the invitation of Foreign Minister Wang to attend commemorative events in Beijing marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Coexistence. Peaceful.
The event would be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other prominent members of the Communist Party of China (CCP).
China will hold the conference to mark the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in Beijing on Friday, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"On the sidelines of the events, Rajapaksa will hold talks with Prime Minister Li and Minister Yi on areas of mutual interest and also development projects that will benefit Sri Lanka," the news portal said.
Rajapaksa will also discuss Sri Lanka's debt restructuring deal and express gratitude for the assistance provided by China and China's Exim Bank, he said.
Rajapaksa had led a massive infrastructure campaign by building a port, an airport and a southern highway with Chinese commercial loans. Sri Lanka was facing criticism for falling into the Chinese debt trap during Rajapaksa's presidency.
Then, in mid-April 2022, Sri Lanka declared its first sovereign default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had made external debt restructuring conditional on the $2.9 billion bailout package. , of which the third tranche was launched last week.
Rajapaksa, who will return from China on July 1 and return to performing internationally after a brief break, is also viewed with interest ahead of the imminent presidential elections to be held in the last quarter of this year.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishnakar also visited Rajapaksa last week in Colombo.
Rajapaska's Sri Lanka People's Front (SLPP, known locally by its popular Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna), is in disarray with several splits since his younger brother Gotabaya was ousted after the 2022 popular uprising over his inability to address the economic crisis.
The party is yet to endorse incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe's candidacy.
The decision on the appointment of the party's presidential candidate was left to Mahinda Rajapaksa for the SLPP when he made his visit to China.
China is Sri Lanka's largest bilateral lender, holding 52 percent of the $40 billion foreign debt when Sri Lanka announced its sovereign default in 2022.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced on Wednesday that debt restructuring deals with bilateral lenders, including India and China, have been finalized in Paris, describing the development as an "important milestone" that will bolster international confidence in the cash-strapped island nation. .
The debt restructuring agreement involves giving time until 2043 to repay $4.2 billion of Chinese loans, most of which were withdrawn during Rajapaksa's presidency (2005-2015).
On Thursday, the Daily Mirror cited sources to report that the visit of the 78-year-old patriarch of the Rajapaksa dynasty was at the invitation of Foreign Minister Wang to attend commemorative events in Beijing marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Coexistence. Peaceful.
The event would be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other prominent members of the Communist Party of China (CCP).
China will hold the conference to mark the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in Beijing on Friday, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"On the sidelines of the events, Rajapaksa will hold talks with Prime Minister Li and Minister Yi on areas of mutual interest and also development projects that will benefit Sri Lanka," the news portal said.
Rajapaksa will also discuss Sri Lanka's debt restructuring deal and express gratitude for the assistance provided by China and China's Exim Bank, he said.
Rajapaksa had led a massive infrastructure campaign by building a port, an airport and a southern highway with Chinese commercial loans. Sri Lanka was facing criticism for falling into the Chinese debt trap during Rajapaksa's presidency.
Then, in mid-April 2022, Sri Lanka declared its first sovereign default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had made external debt restructuring conditional on the $2.9 billion bailout package. , of which the third tranche was launched last week.
Rajapaksa, who will return from China on July 1 and return to performing internationally after a brief break, is also viewed with interest ahead of the imminent presidential elections to be held in the last quarter of this year.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishnakar also visited Rajapaksa last week in Colombo.
Rajapaska's Sri Lanka People's Front (SLPP, known locally by its popular Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna), is in disarray with several splits since his younger brother Gotabaya was ousted after the 2022 popular uprising over his inability to address the economic crisis.
The party is yet to endorse incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe's candidacy.
The decision on the appointment of the party's presidential candidate was left to Mahinda Rajapaksa for the SLPP when he made his visit to China.
