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

As chair of this year’s Group of Seven (G7) meeting, Japan has put efforts to address debt vulnerabilities of middle-income countries such as Sri Lanka as among priorities for debate.

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

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

“We altogether made a great effort to set up the framework,” Suzuki said. “I hope many countries will participate. It will be very nice if China will join,” Suzuki said.

Sri Lanka last month 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, which has disrupted imports of essentials from fuel to medicine and caused political turmoil.

Source: Reuters

The Federation of University Teachers' Associations has decided to rejoin with university academics from the 17th of April 2023.

The decision was reached following a meeting that went on until early on Wednesday (12) morning, and the official announcement was made later in the day.

However, no agreement was reached with regard to FUTAs involvement in the evaluation of the G. C. E. Advanced Level Examination answer scripts.

University Teachers launched a nation-wide strike on the 9th of March against the government's latest tax reforms and several other issues.

The Asian Development Bank is considering more concessionary funding for Sri Lanka and support for green bond issues as part of its assistance to help the nation recover from the economic crisis, according to Bloomberg News.

ADB Sri Lanka country director Chen Chen said in an interview in Colombo that the Manila-based lender’s immediate priority in 2023 is to continue work on overall economic stability and support the banking and energy sectors.

“We are also actively working on mobilizing more concessional resources and grant resources to the country,” Chen said. “This will hopefully be part of our assistance in the coming years.”

ADB is trying to mobilize funds below the already concessional Ordinary Capital Resources facilities that Sri Lanka currently has access to, Chen said.

Last month, Sri Lanka clinched a $3 billion loan program from the International Monetary Fund that is expected to unlock fresh funding and help the island nation begin restructuring its debt after an unprecedented default in 2022. Last year, the World Bank made Sri Lanka eligible for more concessional funds, as the nation sought to ease its debt obligations.

Through 2022, the ADB disbursed around $334 million by re-purposing existing project loans. The lender already has about $3.7 billion of previously approved loans in transport, energy, education, health, social protection, agriculture, and small and medium enterprises, among others, which will be disbursed as projects progress, Chen said.

Sri Lanka is now conducting an asset quality review of banks with ADB’s support, and is discussing reforms to improve governance and financial sustainability for the power sector, Chen said.

Disruptions to economic activity due to electricity outages last year as the government ran out of dollars to pay for essential imports including fuel, food and medicine, showed that the power sector has a key role to play in Sri Lanka’s stability and future recovery, Chen said.

The ADB is also working with local authorities to prepare the groundwork to sell “green or blue bonds” after economic stability is restored, Chen said.

The lender expects Sri Lanka’s economy will contract by 3% this year and expand by 1.3% in 2024, after shrinking by 7.8% last year.

“We hope in the long term, the private sector can contribute more to the economy,” Chen said. “We would like to continue discussions with the private sector if there are emerging needs.”

SLPP general secretary Sagara Kariyawasam finds Basil Rajapaksa to be a best choice of a leader for Sri Lanka.

During the war, Rajapaksa interacted with the international community and obtained its support militarily, Kariyawasam told the media today (11).

In the postwar period, he acted as the economic development minister to elevate the poor and to make Sri Lanka a fast developing nation, he said.

Rajapaksa identified the heartbeat of the poor and did much to uplift them economically, said the SLPP general secretary, adding that he fearlessly faced the recent allegations against him and proved them to be false.

Kariyawasam’s comments came amid speculation that Rajapaksa was planning to renounce his US citizenship and enter parliament within months.

Some in the SLPP have even proposed him to be the party’s candidate at the next presidential polls.

Japan, India and France are scheduled to hold a press briefing on Thursday (13 April) to announce the launch of the debt restructuring negotiation process on Sri Lanka.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) communicated this quoting the Japanese Finance Ministry.

Accordingly, the finance ministers of the three creditor countries – Shunichi Suzuki, Bruno Le Maire and Nirmala Sitharaman – will join the said press briefing planned to be held on the margins of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Washington DC.

The three creditor countries have been working closely for a coordinated debt restructuring process for the island nation.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe are expected to join the live streaming of the press briefing.

In addition, the IMF, World Bank and other international organizations as well as the private sector will participate in the debt restructuring discussions.

The IMF had made Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring a prerequisite for granting the USD 2.9 billion bailout. Its Executive Board approved a 48-month extended arrangement under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with an amount of SDR 2.286 billion (about USD 3 billion) to Sri Lanka following financing assurances from the creditors.

Sri Lanka, which drew its first tranche of the USD 3 billion bailout programme, has already met an instalment to pay back an Indian line of credit which the island nation obtained early last year just before announcing the debt default.

The IMF bailout, the 17th in Sri Lanka’s history, was approved following prolonged discussions over Colombo’s unsustainable debt.

Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves, sparking a major political and humanitarian crisis in the island nation.

The National Committee on Delimitation of Divisions for Local Government Bodies handed over its preliminary draft report to Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena today.

Demarcation of constituencies based on geographical size and population has been listed in the preliminary draft and the said draft is to be forwarded to District Secretaries and political party secretaries shortly.

Religious leaders and various organizations have already submitted proposals to be included in this report.

Committee Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said that the proposals being received for inclusion in the report will be considered until April 30 since the time until then is granted to prepare the final report.

The Department of Examinations has urged university lecturers to take part in the evaluation of the 2022 G.C.E. Advanced Level examination papers.

In a media release, Commissioner General of Examinations Amith Jayasundara said the paper marking activities can be commenced with the participation of the exam markers who have already applied for the task.

The paper marking process has been delayed by 54 days, the exams chief said, adding that the students who sat for the A/L exam are now afflicted while the entire sector of education is facing instability as a result.

He also mentioned that the Education Ministry has increased the payment made per answer sheet.

The 2022 Advanced Level exam was held from 23 January to 17 February this year.

The paper marking process was put on hold as the Federation of the University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) joined a countrywide one-day strike action led by the trade union collective of professionals on March 15 against the recent tax revision, electricity tariff hike and several other unpopular decisions made by the incumbent government, the.

Although services returned to normalcy after the token strike was called off the following day, the FUTA decided to continue its trade union action as satisfactory solutions were not provided for their demands.

The FUTA decided to call off its trade union action and rejoin academic activities starting from April 17.

However, the association stated that the decision on the participation of university academics in the A/L examination paper evaluation will be deferred until a satisfactory conclusion is reached.

The G.C.E. ordinary level examination 2023 has been postponed by two weeks, and will now start on May 29, announced the Examinations Department.

It was scheduled to begin on May 15.

The delayed start is due to the still incomplete evaluation of answer papers of the G.C.E. advanced level examination.

University lecturers are staying away from the process over an income tax issue, while teachers have agreed to carry out the task.

However, it cannot begin until a board comprising university lecturers plan the marks procedure.

The first ever Sinhala language publication on education technology has been launched.

Titled ‘Adyapana Thakshanayata Praveshayak’, it has been written by Dr. Himendra Balalla, a division head and lecturer at the National Institute of Business Management (NIBM).

The book contains the writer’s experiences and research in simple language to serve as a guidebook for teachers, administrators and students.

Speakers at its launch at Waters Edge at Battaramulla included director general of NIBM D.M.A. Kulasuriya, Prof. Tudor Weerasinghe, presidential media division director Stanley Hettiarachchi and Prof. Anura Munasinghe.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe directed officials to develop a formal plan aimed at maximizing the contribution of the Nuwara Eliya District, a major tourist city, to the Sri Lankan Government’s program to establish a stable economy within a four-year timeframe.

During a discussion held at the Nuwara Eliya District Secretariat this morning (10), the President instructed officials to work on a formal plan to maximize the contribution of the Nuwara Eliya District, the President’s Media Division reported.

The discussion also included the unveiling of the Nuwara Eliya New Town Development Plan and the Nuwara Eliya Tourism Plan, which were attended by political authority and government officials from the Nuwara Eliya District.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who spoke at the occasion, highlighted that despite the belief of many that the country’s economy could not be rebuilt, the agreement reached by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Government, provides an opportunity for fresh hope on the country’s economy.

The President emphasized the importance of developing the Nuwara Eliya District as a striking city that can attract tourists throughout the year, targeting both local and foreign tourists.

The President stressed the importance of preparing the development plans while considering the needs of tourists. He explained that the plans should prioritize creating a pleasant environment for tourists to relax, rather than focusing on constructing large buildings.

He also pointed out that the absence of a formal system for rainwater drainage in Nuwara Eliya City is a longstanding issue, and he urged officials to implement an urgent program to address this problem. Additionally, he directed special attention to solving the problem of drinking water in the area.

Mr. Wickremesinghe further explained that buildings in the Nuwara Eliya City should be done according to a proper plan, rather than constructing buildings haphazardly. He emphasized that the city has suffered due to the construction of large buildings and that officials should consider whether to turn it into a bustling metropolis like New York or maintain its identity as Nuwara Eliya.

The President highlighted the likelihood of an increase in tourist arrivals to Nuwara Eliya with the completion of the Central Expressway and stressed the importance of developing facilities in accordance with a proper plan.

He also emphasized that no party or investor should be allowed to damage the resources of the Nuwara Eliya District, and that all development should be environmentally friendly and well-planned.

Furthermore, Mr. Wickremesinghe called for government officials and political authorities to work in a well-coordinated manner in these matters. He encouraged everyone to think beyond the traditional framework and align themselves with the new program needed by the country.

Following the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his intention to meet with all the secretaries of ministries, chairpersons of authorities and commissions, as well as heads of departments in order to obtain their contribution to realize the targeted 2025 development plan.

During the discussion, there was a widespread focus on developing the Nuwara Eliya District through sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.

There was a detailed conversation regarding the development activities to be carried out in the city under the Nuwara Eliya City Development Plan, as well as the development of Nanu Oya as a sub-city.

Plans were also made to develop Nuwara Eliya as a green city by preserving forest conservation areas, and five suburbs were earmarked for development with Nuwara Eliya as the central hub. Additionally, the establishment of a university in Nuwara Eliya and the construction of a Ramayana Center were also discussed during the meeting.

The President issued instructions to modernize the Nanu-Oya Railway Station and establish a high-quality economic centre nearby. The aim is to enable farmers to pack their vegetables and transport them safely and conveniently to Colombo.

The development of the racecourse and the lake, improvement of parking facilities, and speedy implementation of a formal water management program in Nuwara Eliya were given special attention during the discussions.

In addition, a program to increase the income of local residents and improve their lives was discussed at length.

The event was attended by Minister Jeevan Thondaman, Nuwara Eliya District Members of Parliament S.B. Dissanayake, C.B. Ratnayake, V.S. Radhakrishnan and M. Rameswaran, President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, Nuwara Eliya District Secretary Nandana Galabada, and other government officials.

--PMD

Sri Lanka has reaffirmed its commitment to the complete the IMF bailout program, said State Minister Shehan Semasinghe during his meeting with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the IMF - World Bank Spring Meetings on Tuesday (11).

He said that Sri Lanka will also implement its ambitious reform agenda to achieve debt sustainability & restore economic stability.

He had reiterated Sri Lanka's dedication at this historic time to build a prosperous country with the support & trust of its international partners by building on the lessons learnt from the crisis.

The State Minister had expressed his gratitude for giving leadership to support Sri Lanka to overcome the difficulties faced during the economic crisis.

The 2022 G. C. E. O/L exam will take place from 29th May to 8th June, said the Department of Examinations.

In a statement, the Department of Examination introduced several telephone numbers and an email for inquiries.

Telephone: 011 2 785 922 / 011 2 784 208 / 011 2 784 537

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.