COLOMBO - Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Monday that by 2028, the country will be capable of independently meeting its external debt obligations, according to the President's Media Division (PMD).
Delivering the keynote address at the international conference "Sri Lanka's Road to Recovery: Debt and Governance," Dissanayake said the ultimate goal is to restore national sovereignty through economic stability and self-reliance.
ALSO READ: IMF urges Sri Lanka to sustain economic reform momentum
The conference, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Finance, the central bank of Sri Lanka, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), examined the country's recovery from economic crisis, the progress of debt restructuring, and future challenges under the IMF's Extended Fund Facility program, according to the PMD.
While a degree of macroeconomic stability has been restored, Sri Lanka must deepen this stability through structural reforms, said the president.
READ MORE: Sri Lanka goes green with an urban focus
In her message, IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath stressed the need for continued reforms targeting structural weaknesses such as unsustainable subsidies and inefficient pricing mechanisms.
Dissanayake also met with Gopinath at the Presidential Secretariat on the same day, according to the PMD.
READ MORE: Sri Lanka expects economy to grow at 5%, repay all debt, Dissanayake says
During the meeting, the president highlighted the challenges posed by ongoing global conflicts and their potential implications for Sri Lanka, saying that appropriate measures are being taken to manage and mitigate these risks effectively.
Reflecting on the country's economic journey, Gopinath commended the remarkable progress achieved over the past two years from a state of severe crisis to renewed growth and falling inflation.
In March 2023, the IMF approved a 48-month Extended Fund Facility arrangement, amounting to approximately 3 billion U.S. dollars, to support Sri Lanka's economic reform and recovery efforts.
