Japanese Finance Minister Arrives In Sri Lanka

COLOMBO (News 1st); Japanese Finance Minister Shun'ichi Suzuki arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday (11) afternoon. 

Sri Lanka's Foreign Affairs Ministry said Shunichi will undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka from 11-12 January 2024.

During the visit, Japanese Finance Minister is scheduled to have official discussions with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry.

The Minister of Finance of Japan and the delegation will visit Parliament, Jayawardene Centre, Sri Jayawardenepura Hospital, Colombo Dockyard and Lanka Nippon Biztec Institute in Maharagama during their stay in Sri Lanka.

Earlier this week, Japan restated the importance for early completion of signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sri Lanka and creditor nations on debt restructuring, after an agreement was reached in principle late last year.

It also emphasised the need to ensure transparency and comparability in agreements with creditors outside the Official Creditor Committee (OCC).

Japan, along with France and India, co-chair the committee of 15 creditor nations.

Battling its worst financial crisis since independence in 1948, the South Asian island nation is trying to restructure deals with creditors after soaring inflation, currency depreciation and low foreign reserves sent its economy into free fall, forcing it to default on foreign debt in May 2022.

Sri Lanka and its creditors said in November they reached an agreement in principle on debt restructuring that would cover approximately $5.9 billion of outstanding public debt and consisted of a mix of long-term maturity extension and reduction in interest rates.

Sources: Government Information Department / Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Reuters