Japan to organize Sri Lanka creditors’ meeting by year-end: report

 

Japan is working to organize a meeting of Sri Lanka’s creditors by the end of this year in hopes of solving that country’s debt crisis, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. 

The meeting, which will discuss such issues as finding ways to reduce debt payments, aims to curb China’s influence by helping Sri Lanka cope with its so-called debt traps, which arose after China provided huge loans to the country to fund infrastructure developments and other projects. 

In April, the Sri Lankan government introduced an emergency measure to suspend its repayment of external debts. According to the Sri Lankan government, the nation’s external debt at the end of June stood at $46.6 billion, accounting for about 70% of its gross domestic product.