Colombo, newly appointed World Bank country director for Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives David Sislen on Thursday called President Rani Wickremesinghe and pledged to support the debt-trapped island nation's path to prosperity.
The meeting took place at the Presidential Secretariat.
“#WorldBank Vice President for South Asia Region @MartinRaiser, Country Manager for Maldives and Sri Lanka, South Asia Chiyo Kanda and Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs Dr R H S Samaratunga also attended the meeting "said the President's Media Division in a post on X.
"Honored to have met President @RW_UNP. Impressed by Sri Lanka's commitment to economic reforms. @WorldBank stands ready to support the nation's path to prosperity," Sislen posted on X.
In April 2022, the island nation declared its first sovereign default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. The unprecedented financial crisis led President Ranil Wickremesinghe's predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign from office in 2022 amid civil unrest. .
On June 12, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) disbursed the third tranche of $336 million of its $2.9 billion bailout package to Sri Lanka. The third tranche was carried out under the Expanded Facility of the Fund (SAF).
Early last week, President Wickremesinghe, also Finance Minister, announced that debt restructuring agreements with bilateral lenders, including India and China, had been finalized in Paris on June 26, describing it as an "important milestone." to reinforce international confidence in debt. mounted economy.
While making a special statement in Parliament on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe said: “Sri Lanka's external debt now stands at $37 billion, which includes $10.6 billion in bilateral credit and $11.7 billion in multilateral credit. The commercial debt is 14.7 billion dollars, of which 12.5 billion dollars are sovereign bonds.”
In November last year, the World Bank approved $150 million to strengthen Sri Lanka's financial and institutional sectors.
The meeting took place at the Presidential Secretariat.
“#WorldBank Vice President for South Asia Region @MartinRaiser, Country Manager for Maldives and Sri Lanka, South Asia Chiyo Kanda and Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs Dr R H S Samaratunga also attended the meeting "said the President's Media Division in a post on X.
"Honored to have met President @RW_UNP. Impressed by Sri Lanka's commitment to economic reforms. @WorldBank stands ready to support the nation's path to prosperity," Sislen posted on X.
In April 2022, the island nation declared its first sovereign default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. The unprecedented financial crisis led President Ranil Wickremesinghe's predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to resign from office in 2022 amid civil unrest. .
On June 12, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) disbursed the third tranche of $336 million of its $2.9 billion bailout package to Sri Lanka. The third tranche was carried out under the Expanded Facility of the Fund (SAF).
Early last week, President Wickremesinghe, also Finance Minister, announced that debt restructuring agreements with bilateral lenders, including India and China, had been finalized in Paris on June 26, describing it as an "important milestone." to reinforce international confidence in debt. mounted economy.
While making a special statement in Parliament on Tuesday, Wickremesinghe said: “Sri Lanka's external debt now stands at $37 billion, which includes $10.6 billion in bilateral credit and $11.7 billion in multilateral credit. The commercial debt is 14.7 billion dollars, of which 12.5 billion dollars are sovereign bonds.”
In November last year, the World Bank approved $150 million to strengthen Sri Lanka's financial and institutional sectors.