President calls for IMF/World Bank debt moratorium over Covid-19 calamity

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged the Director General of World Health Organization (WHO) to pursue with the international financial organizations and lending nations to help developing countries adversely affected by COVID- 19 calamity, the President’s Media Division said.

“In a telephone conversation with WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom, President Rajapaksa requested him to pursue with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund  (IMF), President of the World Bank (WB), President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and leaders of the leading bilateral lending nations to provide debt moratorium or debt re-profiling facilities for vulnerable developing countries like Sri Lanka whose economies  depend on tourism, exports, remittances and foreign investment in debt  and equity markets preventing affects by COVID – 19 pandemic.”

The Sri Lankan President and the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) had discussed the latest developments related to the outbreak of COVID-19 during a phone conversation.

The two leaders had discussed the health and economic impacts COVID-19 can have on Sri Lanka and the whole region.

In a twitter message, the WHO chief said he thanked President Rajapaksa for mobilizing the whole-of-government in the fight against the coronavirus.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in response, thanked the Director General for his support to Sri Lanka and the immense work being done by the World Health Organization in the global pandemic.

He added that the Sri Lankan government will continue to collaborate with WHO to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control.