The UNP leader Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he had learned that the reopening of the country could be delayed due to non-payment for diesel required by the country. However he further revealed that he came to know that diesel bill has already paid by the government and ship is it’s way, If it get delayed you will have to put it off for the mid of October .
Making remarks in recent online seminar on Debt sustainability organized by International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka Mr. Wickramasdinghe said that reading newspapers he came to know that our foreign minister is seeking a line of credit for fuel from the Foreign Minister of UAE. Although they generally don’t give such facilities former Prime Minister hoped that they will agree to give oil on a credit line.
Mr. Wickramasinghe was commenting on the economy of Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal at a conference on zoom technology organized by the Sri Lanka International Chamber of Commerce.
He said he did not have much faith in home grown remedies after Dhammika’s Paniya to solve the country’s economic problems and overcome the foreign debt crisis.
“We are a country that is a import dominant . Cars cannot be imported today. Our economy needs imports. Today the country is in a challenging position. On the one hand, a global debt crisis and another debt crisis in our country. At present we as a country have to repay a huge foreign exchange loan. Foreign reserves have decreased. Public debt has increased. We have increased our budget deficit by 9.5 to 10.5 percent in a year. Credit value has increased relative to GDP.
How do we get out of these problems? We can not go beyond the global situation. We have to borrow from a place like the International Monetary Fund to take this crisis.
