Jeevan Thondaman, general secretary of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress and minister, expressed his gratitude to the President for his excellent leadership in bringing the agreement with the IMF to a successful conclusion despite the concerns and criticism of the political opposition.
He made this statement in response to the International Monetary Fund Executive Committee’s acceptance of the provision of loan facilities to Sri Lanka.
He added the following in this regard:
“Within days after entering bankruptcy, our nation had no choice but to turn to the International Monetary Fund for assistance. Economic reforms were also made for this reason.
16 times, Sri Lanka has requested assistance from the International Monetary Fund. The promises, however, were not kept. This made it extremely difficult to this time receive loan approval. International financial organizations also placed Sri Lanka lower on the data list than other countries.
In light of this, the President has successfully negotiated diplomatically with India, China, Japan, the Paris Club, and other nations to secure approval for a loan from the International Monetary Fund.Now Sri Lanka can sustain itself and move forward, Institutions of finance will also loosen their limits on Sri Lanka..
In that regard, I would like to express my gratitude to the President, the IMF chiefs, and the nations, including India, for their cooperation.
G.Krishanthan – 0779166581, 0779775719
Media Secretary
Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development