Addressing the deputies in the Parliament, Wickremesinghe said, “We are now facing a situation that is much greater than fuel, electricity and food shortages. Our economy has completely collapsed. We can only solve all these problems by reviving the Sri Lankan economy.”
Wickremesinghe, who serves as the Minister of Finance as well as the Prime Minister, stated that aid conferences will be held with China, Japan and India in the coming days.
Sri Lanka, which has been facing the biggest economic crisis since its independence from England in 1948, defaulted for the first time in its history in May, and was unable to import products that it was dependent on, such as fuel, medicine and fertilizer, due to the debt crisis.
On the other hand, the government last week approved a bill encouraging public employees to take Friday off for the next three months and spare time to grow food at home due to problems with food imports.
After the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s intervention and devaluation in March to benefit from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) debt program, the country’s currency, the rupee, lost nearly 75 percent of its value against the dollar.
The Central Bank stated that the economy will shrink by 3.5 percent this year, while Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said, “We can grow again with debt restructuring, a reform package and international aid.”
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
High-level officials from India and the United States are expected to visit Sri Lanka in the coming days.
Wickremesignhe said, “We need the support of our historical allies, India, Japan and China. We will hold aid conferences with all these countries to solve the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.”
Wickremesinghe stated that the government also asked for support from the USA, and that the 70 million dollars support received from the World Bank so far will be used for bottled gas.
India has provided Sri Lanka with $4 billion worth of aid to date, including nearly $400 million in clearing and a total of $1.5 billion in lines of credit.
According to Sri Lankan news platform Ada Derana, Wickremesinghe said the government’s ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will conclude by the end of July.
Sri Lanka, which has a total debt of 51 billion dollars, has to pay its foreign debt of 25 billion dollars by 2026. The amount of debt that the country is expected to pay by the end of this year is 7 billion dollars.
It is stated that Wickremesinghe is preparing to present the provisional budget for 2022 to the parliament in August.