President Ranil Wickremesinghe says Sri Lanka has received a new letter from the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China, confirming the Chinese government’s assurances to restructure the island’s debt.

Accordingly, a Letter of Intent – signed by President Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe – on the assurances received from Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral creditor has been forwarded to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Stating that he has done his part for the process to unlock the of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF), the Head of State said he is hopeful that Sri Lanka will receive this USD 2.9 billion bailout package by the end of March. 

“Now our duties are done. I hope that before the end of this month, by the fourth week, the IMF will do its duty. After that we get the first round of money from the World Bank and ADB.”

Once reached, the agreement with the IMF will be tabled in the parliament along with the draft of the government’s future plans and the road map, he assured.

President Wickremesinghe made these remarks delivering a special statement in parliament today (March 07) on the current state of the country’s economy and the progress of the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).