The United States will assist the restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt and lengthen financing assurances to the beleaguered island nation, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated in a letter seen by Reuters.
Struggling with a manner out of the worst financial disaster in additional than seven a long time, Sri Lanka final week struck a preliminary settlement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a mortgage of about $2.9 billion.
“The United States, as a creditor, is ready to participate in the restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt,” Yellen stated in Tuesday’s letter, calling on all collectors to cooperate totally in negotiations and restructuring.
He added that the US Treasury would be a part of with different US authorities businesses, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to assist Sri Lanka’s dialogue with the IMF.
Earlier, the Sri Lankan authorities had stated that the United States would assist the restructuring effort.
Sri Lanka’s monetary turmoil, the worst since independence from Britain in 1948, stemmed from financial mismanagement in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic that has worn out its main tourism business.
Sri Lankans have been grappling with extreme shortages of gas and different primary items for months, prompting unprecedented protests that pressured a change in authorities.
The disaster unfolded in July when then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had been accused of financial mismanagement, fled the nation and resigned, being changed by Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The veteran parliamentarian has confronted an uphill battle to stabilize the financial system, nonetheless, which has been hit by runaway annual inflation, which now stands at round 65%.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
