New Staff Level Agreement with IMF
Debt restructuring programme by year end
No room for racism under this Government
Delivering the Government’s Policy Statement in the inaugural session of the tenth Parliament, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday conveyed a sense of optimism regarding the Government’s prospects of securing the Staff Level Agreement with the IMF on Friday.
“We are hopeful that by the 23rd, we will finalise and sign a Staff Level Agreement with the IMF, marking a significant milestone in our collaboration with the organization”, he said. The President said that the Government expects to secure Staff Level Agreement for the third review of the programme this week which provide credible foundation for rebuilding the country’s economy.
The President said that there was a delay in the third review, initially scheduled for September, owing to the recent elections.
He said that the Government has reached a common understanding regarding bilateral debt and it is prepared now to quickly formalise agreement with individual countries. The President also expressed optimism that the debt restructuring programme with the IMF can be successfully concluded before end of this year.
“This is a crucial step in moving forward with the IMF. Additionally the debt restructuring programme agreed upon with the IMF has faced some challenges,” he said.
The President added that when the NPP government came into power,an agreement had been reached on the restructuring of bilateral debt. “The government had already started discussions on international sovereign bond debt in the commercial market. We recall that these discussions were publicly announced through the media with the final agreement being made just two days before the Presidential Election,” he said.
President Dissanayake said that due to this situation, the government was not given an opportunity to revisit discussions on debt restructuring.
“The negotiations had already been in progress for over two years. Should we attempt to resume discussions on the restructuring programme for an extended duration, it would be impossible for us to move the economy without completing the debt restructuring process”, he said.
He pointed out that the discussion on debt restructuring, which had been ongoing for nearly two years were in their final stages, when he assumed duties as the President.
“At this juncture, debating whether the proposed restructuring plan is good or bad, advantageous or disadvantageous serves no purpose. This is the reality, we are faced with, Based on this we have reached a common understanding regarding bilateral debt. We are now prepared to quickly formalize agreement with individual countries accordingly”, he said.
The President noted that the government had already reached a preliminary agreement with regard to International Sovereign Bonds and commercial market debt. “We anticipate that this process will be completed by the end of December. , he said.
“However as a policy, we do not believe that this framework alone will suffice to address all the deep seated crises facing our economy. Nevertheless, it will be adequate for managing the crisis in our financial sector. Yet, the economic structure of our nation is severely compromised akin to a system suffering from significant structure of our nation is severely comprised, akin to a system suffering from significant structural collapse. Therefore to navigate out of this breakdown, we must adopt a new economic strategy,” he added.
During the address, the President stressed that there is no room for racism in the country under his rule and thanked people of all communities who placed trust in his government and its policies.
“Today all communities across all provinces have trusted us and granted us this power.It is with profound gratitude that I extend my deepest respect and thanks to the people who trusted us,” the President said.
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