Sri Lanka will continue talks with IMF on its debt obligations, says President

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka has started discussions with international monetary agencies and other friendly nations on its debt servicing obligations, said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday (16), in a televised address to the nation.“We need to clear the deficit and increase our foreign reserves,” said the President, adding that the government is in talks with various factions to implement necessary processes that would not be detrimental to Sri Lanka.‘We held talks with the International Monetary Fund yesterday (15).

We hope to secure a process that would see us service our annual debt installments and sovereign bonds,” said the President adding that it was decided to further work with the IMF after studying the pros and cons of the proposed process.President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that certain decisions made by him in the past attributed to the control of import expenses, and that is why vehicle imports were suspended two years ago, and local industries were encouraged to boost production.The President said the main issue faced when controlling import expenses is the rapidly rising petroleum prices in the world market.“Over 20% of our import expenses are spent on petroleum products.

Over the past few months, crude prices in the world doubled. And this is why we are not able to prevent an increase in fuel prices in the country,” said the President.He said that because fuel products are required for both vehicles and electricity generation, he decided to encourage local authorities to promote renewable energy sources.“Therefore, the people can support these efforts by cutting down on fuel and electricity consumption,” said the President, adding he expects the people to understand their responsibilities during.