Country’s crises cannot be resolved only by agreeing to agendas of multilateral agencies – Eran  

SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne said that the country’s crises cannot be resolved only by agreeing to the agendas of multilateral agencies that provide assistance to find solutions to the crises that Sri Lanka is currently facing.When holding discussions with the International Monetary Fund, the government should adopt a strategy to discuss not only their agenda but also to include our agenda of national interest.

Participating in parliamentary debate on President Ranil Wickremsinghe’s police statement, the MP said: The International Monetary Fund has advised us to revise the electricity tariffs. It has also been said to restructure the balance sheet of the petroleum corporation. It is also said to increase the perimeter of the external credit limit. As of now, our foreign debt is about 30% of the total debt.

“Dealings have to be negotiated with other parties who agree to assist in resolving issues. The unique problem for Sri Lanka is the non-availability of dollars. There are also issues with financial problems and a balance of payments related to the budget. But we have no problem with banks. If we do not engage in negotiations to protect our banking system, the emergence of another crisis cannot be avoided.”

Wickramaratne said that Sri Lanka should not ever consider the domestic debt restructuring proposal in particular. “We must be firm in that position. Otherwise, while trying to solve one problem, the country may be pushed into another problem. If a banking crisis occurs, it will take another decade to resolve it,” he said.

“In the economic crisis we are facing, the huge problem is the national debt. According to government statistics on public debt, the percentage of debt received from China is 10%. 13% from the Asian Development Bank, 9% from the World Bank, and 47% from sovereign bonds (ISB). , 10% from Japan, 2% from India and 9% from all other countries.”