Colombo: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday urged all political parties to support the Economic Transformation Bill in Parliament as an immediate measure to help the crisis-hit island nation prop up its bankrupt economy.
"We have made an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and now we cannot go back from it, we have to move forward with the cooperation of our friendly countries," Wickremesinghe said while addressing a gathering in the capital here.
He rejected suggestions from opposition parties to modify the IMF agreement, saying they should put forward an alternative plan on the economy.
The 75-year-old leader, who also holds the charge of Finance Minister, said, "Criticism is easy but implementation is difficult."
“By the end of 2023, our debt will be US$83 billion more than our GDP,” Wickremesinghe said.“We have reached an agreement with the IMF outlining a plan to stabilize our economy.
The island nation, in April 2022, declared its first sovereign default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. President Wickremesinghe's predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to step down in 2022 due to an unprecedented financial crisis.
Earlier in the month, Foreign Minister Ali Sabri had said that Sri Lanka was looking to reduce about US$17 billion from its total debt burden in the ongoing debt restructuring process.
In March, the IMF said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Sri Lanka for the next phase, giving it US$337 million from a nearly US$3 billion bailout approved in 2023 for the cash-strapped country. Will get permission to borrow.Will be able to reach. Two tranches of US$330 million were released in March and December 2023, while the Washington-based global lender praised Colombo for macroeconomic policy reforms, which it said "are beginning to bear fruit."
Commenting on the ongoing debt restructuring talks, Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka had sought a debt moratorium from 2027 to 2042.
"Also, since we are still an import-oriented economy, we have to get more credit to transform our economy into an export-oriented economy," he said.
The President said that the Economic Transformation Bill aims to deal with the problem of maintaining and stabilizing the economy.He said the bill proposes to reduce the debt burden from 128 percent of GDP in 2022 to 13 percent of GDP by 2032. The opposition has criticized the bill, saying it will help Wickremesinghe win re-election in the presidential election. Mid-September and mid-October.
However, Wickremesinghe has not yet announced his candidacy.
"We have made an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and now we cannot go back from it, we have to move forward with the cooperation of our friendly countries," Wickremesinghe said while addressing a gathering in the capital here.
He rejected suggestions from opposition parties to modify the IMF agreement, saying they should put forward an alternative plan on the economy.
The 75-year-old leader, who also holds the charge of Finance Minister, said, "Criticism is easy but implementation is difficult."
“By the end of 2023, our debt will be US$83 billion more than our GDP,” Wickremesinghe said.“We have reached an agreement with the IMF outlining a plan to stabilize our economy.
The island nation, in April 2022, declared its first sovereign default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. President Wickremesinghe's predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to step down in 2022 due to an unprecedented financial crisis.
Earlier in the month, Foreign Minister Ali Sabri had said that Sri Lanka was looking to reduce about US$17 billion from its total debt burden in the ongoing debt restructuring process.
In March, the IMF said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Sri Lanka for the next phase, giving it US$337 million from a nearly US$3 billion bailout approved in 2023 for the cash-strapped country. Will get permission to borrow.Will be able to reach. Two tranches of US$330 million were released in March and December 2023, while the Washington-based global lender praised Colombo for macroeconomic policy reforms, which it said "are beginning to bear fruit."
Commenting on the ongoing debt restructuring talks, Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka had sought a debt moratorium from 2027 to 2042.
"Also, since we are still an import-oriented economy, we have to get more credit to transform our economy into an export-oriented economy," he said.
The President said that the Economic Transformation Bill aims to deal with the problem of maintaining and stabilizing the economy.He said the bill proposes to reduce the debt burden from 128 percent of GDP in 2022 to 13 percent of GDP by 2032. The opposition has criticized the bill, saying it will help Wickremesinghe win re-election in the presidential election. Mid-September and mid-October.
However, Wickremesinghe has not yet announced his candidacy.
