INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Japan restated the importance for early completion of signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sri Lanka and creditor nations
on debt restructuring, after an agreement was reached in principle late last year.It also emphasised the need to ensure transparency and
comparability in agreements with creditors outside the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), according to a statement dated Friday.Japan, along
with France and India, co-chair the committee of 15 creditor nations.Battling its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948, the
South Asian island nation is trying to restructure deals with creditors after soaring inflation, currency depreciation and low foreign
reserves sent its economy into free fall, forcing it to default on foreign debt in May 2022.Sri Lanka and its creditors said in November
they reached an agreement in principle on debt restructuring that would cover approximately $5.9 billion of outstanding public debt and
billion, which includes $10.81 billion of bilateral debt, according to data released by its finance ministry in September.Sri Lanka needs to
secure debt restructuring agreements with both bilateral creditors and bondholders, possibly by March, to complete the second review of a
$2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.Source: Reuters--Agencies
