Economics
Sri Lanka Must Show IMF Sustainable Debt Plan to Secure Aid
- Progress toward debt restructuring a condition for IMF funds
- Defaults loom as dwindling dollar reserves used for food, fuel
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When Sri Lankan officials arrive in Washington this week to meet with the International Monetary Fund amid an economic and political crisis, the main question they’ll need to answer is how the country plans to manage its billions in debt.
Sri Lanka is seeking up to $4 billion this year to help it import essentials and pay creditors. To get any of that through the IMF’s various programs, the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa must present a sustainable debt program. That’s a standard requirement for aid from the so-called lender of last resort, even if a shortage of food, fuel and medicine is pushing the country toward a humanitarian crisis.