Received letter of assurance from China’s Exim Bank last night – President

Delivering a special statement in Parliament, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the Government has received the letter of assurance from China’s Exim Bank last night (06).

He added that the Letter of Intent signed by the Central Bank Governor and himself was sent to the IMF last night itself.

“We have fulfilled our duties…I hope the IMF duties will be done by the third or fourth week of this month,” he said.

Noting that the government took many extremely difficult economic measures to stabilize the economy and efforts are now being made to ensure economic growth, he noted that the suffering caused by this continues for everyone in society.

Strong action

While apologizing as a government for the hardships the people have had to undergo in meeting the IMF’s conditions for restructuring,  the President also sought cooperation from the opposition and warned that if the restructuring process is sabotaged, the government will not hesitate to take strong action.

In his address to parliament, the President further said that with the provision of fertilizer, the country achieved a successful harvest during Yala and Maha seasons, & the export of agricultural products has gained a fair degree of normalcy & economic problems since June 2022 have been resolved to some extent.

He also said that the government implemented various measures such as providing essential commodities, uninterrupted electricity supply, fertilizer to farmers, and additional funds for Samurdhi beneficiaries & restored tax policies implemented in 2019 to improve revenue as the emergency tax cuts implemented earlier led to a decrease in government revenue.

The President also noted that although the unfavourable conditions in the country in 2022 resulted in an unsuccessful tourism industry, there are indications that the situation is improving this year.