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Sri Lanka said on Wednesday it had clinched a restructuring deal with key bilateral lender China and other nations, covering up to $10 billion in debt, a critical step towards recovery after a 2022 financial crash.
The agreement is expected to revive stalled infrastructure projects, including a Japanese-funded airport expansion and a new mass transit light rail in the capital, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt in April 2022 after running out of foreign exchange, and the unprecedented economic crisis forced then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.
“Sri Lanka concluded negotiations with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) and the Exim Bank of China,” Wickremesinghe said in a televised Sinhalese-language address to the nation.
“Sri Lanka won,” he added in English while thanking the OCC, which included Japan, India, the United States, Canada and several European nations.
He said the deal with OCC nations was reached in Paris, while an agreement with the Exim Bank of China was signed in Beijing on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka secured a moratorium on repayments until 2028, he said, but gave no further details.
