Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Wednesday that he has encouraged IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to “expand” the IMF’s support package to Sri Lanka, emphasising that no country other than India is contributing money for gasoline to the crisis-hit island nation.
The conversation between Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund takes place as Sri Lanka decides to seek help from the Washington-based global lender to combat the country’s worst economic crisis since its 1948 independence from Britain. Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) began talks on April 18th.
After the government froze all external debt obligations on April 12, Sri Lanka has already begun procedures to restructure its international debts, which is a need for an IMF programme.
Wickremesinghe said in his address to Parliament that he spoke with Georgieva on the phone on Tuesday and advised her of Sri Lanka’s need for bridging funding.
“I asked her to speed up the procedure because we require bridging financing.” “Both our arrangement and an unfamiliar debt restructuring plan were explored,” he said.
Wickremesinghe continued, “I am doing my best to push this forward and get money by September at the latest,” as his cash-strapped government looks for USD 6 billion to keep the country afloat for the next six months.
“Please don’t cause blackouts,” Wickremesinghe urged, referring to a planned walkout by engineers from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), a state-run power entity. “You can hold banners and strike.” “If you do, don’t expect me to seek assistance from India.” No country is willing to fund our fuel and coal needs. Only India is willing to give. Our credit line with India is about to expire. He responded, “We’re talking about extending it.”
Featured Image: Ada Derana
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