COLOMBO (NewsRadio); Sri Lanka has made a formal request for a debt treatment from official creditors.
The Paris Club said in a statement that Sri Lankan authorities requested for a debt treatment from the official creditor committee which met yesterday for the first time since April.
A total of 17 countries have formally formed an official creditor committee, co-chaired by India, Japan and France, to discuss the Sri Lankan authorities’ request for a debt treatment.
The committee includes Paris Club creditors as well as other official bilateral creditors.
This is the first meeting after the successful launch of the debt restructuring process for Sri Lanka led by the co-chairs was held on the 13th of April, 2023.
The Paris Club said Sri Lankan authorities attended the meeting and formally presented their request for a debt treatment.
They reiterated their commitment to transparency and comparability of treatment towards their official bilateral creditors.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank representatives presented the latest macroeconomic developments regarding Sri Lanka and the current status of their relationship with the country.
The Paris Club said the creditor committee takes note of the open letter addressed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to all official bilateral creditors of Sri Lanka on the 14th of March, 2023 assuring transparency and comparability of treatment for all external creditors and ensuring that no side arrangements inconsistent with comparability of treatment will be made with any creditor.
The Paris Club said the committee welcomes passage of the resolution for implementation of the IMF-supported programme by the Sri Lankan Parliament on the 28th of April, 2023.
The statement notes, the creditor committee for Sri Lanka will pursue its work to find an appropriate solution to Sri Lanka’s external debt vulnerabilities, consistent with the parameters of the IMF program.
The Paris Club added that it stresses the importance for private creditors and other official bilateral creditors of Sri Lanka to provide a debt treatment on terms at least as favorable as the ones agreed by this creditor committee, in line with the comparability of treatment principle.
The Paris Club in it statement said it reiterates its invitation to other bilateral official creditors to formally join the creditor committee.
