President confident about success of debt negotiations

 Sri Lanka’s debt negotiations would be successful and discussions with Japan, China and India had started, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday during a visit to rural farms in Siyambalanduwa.

 President Wickremesinghe said he had discussed restructuring of the country’s debt with the Chinese Finance Minister recently and was optimistic the discussions would end successfully.

The President said that a Sri Lankan delegation led by the State Minister of Finance had held discussions in Washington with Japan, India, and China, who are Sri Lanka’s biggest bilateral lenders.

“The government is committed to solving the economic crisis and ensuring that the country is secure in food,” the President said, talking to farmers.

Sri Lanka had signed a staff level agreement with the IMF in September and the country was currently trying to restructure its debt to sustainable levels, the President said.