India, Japan, and France will announce a new platform for creditors to coordinate restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Wednesday. He further mentioned that it would be “very nice” if China would join the initiative.

According to a report by news agency Reuters, after the G7 finance leaders’ meeting, Suzuki said in a news conference that the announcement of the new platform, initiated by Japan, France and G20 chair India, will be made on Thursday.

The report also revealed that the platform will likely consist of a series of meetings of the creditor nations to discuss the debt.

Suzuki on Wednesday said that a “great effort” was made to set up the framework.

“I hope many countries will participate. It will be very nice if China will join,” Suzuki said, according to the report.

Last month, Sri Lanka secured a $2.9 billion programme from the International Monetary Fund to tackle its suffocating debt burden and its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades. The island country witnessed disrupted imports of essentials from fuel to medicine and caused political turmoil.

Meanwhile, China, one of the top lenders to Sri Lanka, on Wednesday said it was willing to negotiate a medium- and long-term debt disposal plan with Colombo in a “friendly manner” to enable the crisis-struck island nation to achieve debt sustainability.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Beijing has already committed to waiving the principle and the interest of the debt for two years, PTI reported.

“As a bilateral official creditor, the Export-Import Bank of China has clearly stated in the financing support document issued to the Ministry of Finance of Sri Lanka that it will extend the maturity of Sri Lanka’s debts due in 2022 and 2023,” Wang said. 

Wang was reacting to reports quoting Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Nandalal Weerasinghe, that the debt-struck nation expects China to support its debt restructuring efforts, and help it begin repaying its obligations.

(With agencies inputs)

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