G 7 countries draft communique for debt relief on Sri Lanka

The G 7 countries, Group of Seven economic powers are considering to provide debt relief for Sri Lanka, G7 finance chiefs said on Yesterday (19) in a draft communique from a meeting held in Germany, Reuters reports.

G7 countries ,Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States said in their statement they were committed to finding long-term solutions for the Indian Ocean nation and urged it to “negotiate constructively” with the International Monetary Fund on a potential loan programme.

“The G7 stands ready to support the Paris Club’s efforts, in line with its principles, to address the need for a debt treatment for Sri Lanka,” they said, referring to the group of mostly rich creditor nations.

The draft statement, which is to be finalised before the end the G7 finance ministers’ meeting on Friday, also called on other big creditor nations not in the Paris Club to coordinate with the group and urged them to provide debt relief on comparable terms.

G7 finance chiefs also singled out China, which has become a major creditor to low-income countries, to actively contribute to debt relief for such countries Te Reuter report further states.