INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
help the island nation weather a severe economic crisis, the IMF said on Friday.Staff from the global lender will be in Colombo from August
and India, to talks on bilateral debt restructuring.The loan package being negotiated with the IMF is for between $2 billion and $3 billion
according to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who said he would present an interim budget in September focusing on fiscal consolidation
measures agreed with the IMF.The country of 22 million people is facing its most severe financial crisis since independence from Britain in
1948, resulting from the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic mismanagement.Ordinary Sri Lankans have been battling
shortages for months amid crippling inflation and a devalued currency, stoking unprecedented mass protests
bilateral debt earlier this year was estimated at $6.2 billion as of the end of 2020 by the IMF
It also has $14 billion of international sovereign bond debt.
Source: Reuters
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
