President Ranil Wickremesinghe states that it is crucial for Sri Lanka’s political party leaders to agree on the four-year plan required by the IMF and the other international organizations seeking to assist the island through the economic crisis.

He made these remarks during the all-party conference held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (Dec. 13).

Speaking further on the matter, the president said that preliminary discussions have been completed with the IMF, the World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and that the country will have a clear road map of the journey ahead by February next year, subsequent to further discussions between international organizations and party leaders. 

The all-party conference, organized to find solutions to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict through reconciliation, convened yesterday at the presidential secretariat under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and the party leaders representing parliament. However, representatives of the JVP were not present.

“International organizations inquired as to what we are planning to do as the government during this time and I have submitted our proposals”, the president said.

“So, by February, we will discuss it. As parliament we will have to reach consensus on whether or not we accept the fundamentals”, he expressed.