• State Minister Shehan Semasinghe says if notified or required, GoSL will attend  

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe yesterday (18) noted that while Sri Lanka had not been officially informed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the global sovereign debt roundtable, if the country is informed, and if the presence of Sri Lanka is required, the Government would certainly take part. 

Speaking to The Morning yesterday, Semasinghe said: “Of course, if it is informed to us, and if our presence is required, we will certainly take part. I don’t know the authenticity of this news. However, if there is a roundtable discussion, and if our presence is required, we would certainly take part. We have not been officially informed of it yet. We also don’t know how accurate this is.” 

When queried about the progress on obtaining IMF approval for the bailout programme, Semasinghe said: “There is no deadline as such, but we are trying our best to obtain the approval soon. There is no hard and fast rule saying that we have to do so. Anyhow, we are yet to acquire creditors’ assurances. It doesn’t mean that those parties have refused. They asked for more clarifications, as there were further clarifications required, and we discussed this even during the third creditor meeting held on 16 December.” 

He further noted that if the roundtable discussion is going to deal with such issues too, this would help Sri Lanka.

“We are trying our level best. Of course, if this so-called roundtable discussion is going to take that issue into consideration, it will help us. However, we are trying our best to obtain the creditors’ assurances during the course of next year. At the same time, we are trying our level best and pushing for approval this month (December). 

“It doesn’t mean that the IMF has said that it is not going to look at our possibilities. This is one of the requirements we have to fulfill. Even at the creditors’ meeting, the IMF also noted the importance of getting these assurances. Though the economy has stabilised to a greater extent, it doesn’t mean that it is a permanent stabilisation,” he added. 

He was also critical about those commenting negatively of the IMF process and noted that it is a very complex process. Semasinghe said that people who talk about the IMF and criticise Government officials are those who have not given a single word of encouragement to Sri Lanka towards becoming a country with sustainable debt. 

“I feel sad to see and hear people commenting on this IMF process. It is a very complex process. People who have never supported the cause are criticising the Government over this process. It is not fair for them to do that; however, this is Sri Lanka. We are not discouraged or bothered by it because our main target is to ensure that Sri Lanka becomes debt sustainable so that people will have their reasonable way of living, in the way they used to experience a couple of years ago. We are not interested in what they say. But, I have to say that even though some exposure has been given to them, none of those who comment negatively are people who have been involved in this process,” he added. 

He further said that there are two segments of society, saying: “One segment is the majority who want a solution as early as possible. Economic reform and the restoration of the economy are required by the majority of the people. A minority who are vocal on this negatively are not people who want results, because they do not want Sri Lanka to be debt-sustainable. They want people in Sri Lanka to suffer, because their main intention is to keep their political ideology going. 

“The majority are looking for a solution, and the minority who are negatively vocal, do not want a solution because they think that if the solution is being given, the Government will be popular. If the solution is not given, their political ideology will become popular. Debt restructuring and related talk cannot be decided only by Sri Lanka alone. It has to be a mutual agreement,” he added. 

Meanwhile, recently, there were international media reports quoting IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva that Chinese officials have agreed to participate in a global sovereign debt “roundtable” that would include a wide variety of stakeholders, including private sector creditors.