The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will strongly support Sri Lanka on debt restructuring, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said.
Speaking to NDTV at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, the IMF chief said, “I feel for the people in Sri Lanka. It is breaking my heart to watch pictures of what is happening in the country that once was quite prosperous.”
It is a result of mismanagement, Georgieva said further, noting that the most important thing to be done is to put the island nation back on a sound macroeconomic footing.
Georgieva stressed that Sri Lanka needs to restructure its debt and that the IMF will strongly support the island nation in this regard.
“We have a technical team in the country, we are ready to support Sri Lanka once we have clarity on what the programme may look like and how debt can be restructured,” Georgieva said.
She also complimented India for “being a good friend of Sri Lanka and advocating for Sri Lanka in such difficult times.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in an interview with 'Bloomberg News' said that Sri Lanka is looking to fast-track talks with the IMF and agree on a loan by mid-June so that it can then approach other lenders for urgently needed funds.
"We need to find the dollars — the IMF will not bring in the entire thing,” Prime Minister Wickremesinghe told Bloomberg News, adding that “but if we start with the IMF, it will be easier for others to help us."
