Lanka to ink debt deals by year’s end: Minister

AFP :

Cash-strapped Sri Lanka vowed Thursday to complete its long-delayed foreign debt restructure within the month before a 2025 budget adhering to strict revenue targets set by the International Monetary Fund.
The island nation defaulted on its $46 billion external debt in April 2022 after running out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports such as food and fuel.
Its economy has recovered after getting an IMF rescue package and imposing austerity reforms aimed at repairing the government’s ruined finances.
Economic development deputy minister Anil Jayantha Fernando said debt restructuring had been delayed by more than two years, costing the country an additional $1.7 billion in accumulated interest.
“We are hoping to complete the restructure of bilateral debt and international sovereign bonds by December 31,” Fernando said.
Leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, voted into office in September, told parliament that his government would present its first revenue and expenditure proposals for next year in February.