SRI LANKA’S president urged lawmakers today to approve a four-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to restructure the country’s $17 billion (£13.6bn) in foreign debt.

This came as parliament began a three-day debate on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal to accept the IMF programme. 

If approved, the plan would dictate how Sri Lanka’s crisis-stricken economy will be managed in the coming few years.

A majority of lawmakers are expected to accept the IMF’s four-year bailout programme. Under the plan, the international development lender will provide nearly $3bn (£2.4bn) in stages.

Sri Lanka announced last year that it was suspending repayment of its foreign loans because of a severe foreign currency crisis resulting from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and efforts by the central bank to stabilise Sri Lankan’s rupee by using scarce foreign reserves.

Mr Wickremesinghe said negotiations on restructuring Sri Lanka’s foreign debt will be held with neighbouring India and the Paris Club, a group of major creditor nations on one platform, and separately with China.

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has caused severe shortages of food, medicine, fuel, cooking gas and electricity. 

The crisis led to massive street protests last year that forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.