![Sri Lanka seals partial debt deal after financial crash](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/b7/e1/a8/Sri-Lanka-seals-partial-debt-deal-a-061414.jpg)
-
DR Congo sentences 25 soldiers to death for 'fleeing the enemy': lawyer
-
Sinner, Alcaraz move on at Wimbledon as Osaka slumps on Centre Court return
-
'Lucky' Sinner defeats big-hitting Berrettini to reach Wimbledon third round
-
Messi a doubt for Argentina ahead of Copa quarter-final
-
British tennis ace Raducanu votes for 'lie-in' on election day
-
France film director Jacquot charged with raping two actors
-
Israel 'evaluating' new Hamas 'ideas' on halting Gaza war
-
Venezuela, US agree to 'improve relations,' says Caracas
-
Under-fire Kenya govt says to review state salary hikes
-
Thousands told to flee raging California wildfire
-
Osaka focuses on Olympics after Wimbledon KO
-
Tens of thousands flee south Gaza as tensions soar
-
US Fed officials stressed 'patience' on rate cuts: minutes
-
Blond not bombs as Fognini learns to love Wimbledon
-
New lithium plant inaugurated in Argentina
-
Threads hits 175 mn users on first anniversary
-
French court says Netflix shark hit can keep streaming in copycat row
-
Comeback king 'Cav' to carry on doing the thing he loves
-
Alcaraz marches on at Wimbledon as Osaka returns to Centre Court
-
Biden under pressure as Democratic panic rises
-
Belarus frees 'some political prisoners': exiled opposition leader
-
Alcaraz coasts into Wimbledon third round
-
Cavendish makes Tour de France history with 35th stage win
-
Everton sign forward Ndiaye from Marseille
-
Bailed Indian opposition leader to return as chief minister
-
World's oldest artwork discovered in Indonesian cave
-
Toney urges England to kick on after Euros reprieve
-
Murray teams up with Raducanu in Wimbledon mixed doubles
-
Former England rugby coach Jack Rowell dies aged 87
-
Hurricane Beryl bears down on Jamaica
-
US trade deficit expands less than expected in May: govt
-
'The god took away my son': Indians grieve after deadly stampede
-
Moscow hit by heat not seen in over a century
-
US private hiring eases unexpectedly in June: ADP
-
Confident Kroos says Germany-Spain clash 'won't be my last game'
-
Paris bars to open 24h for Olympics opening ceremony
-
Putin, Xi vie for influence at Central Asian summit
-
Germany, Sweden arrest eight over Syria crimes against humanity
-
French giant Mpetshi Perricard joins Wimbledon heavy artillery
-
Two-time Major winner Langer to make 'emotional' European Tour bow
-
French PM urges united front to stop far-right takeover
-
Olympic silver medallist gymnast Poujade dies at 51
-
Bhole Baba: preacher at centre of Indian stampede disaster
-
Microsoft to invest 2.2 bn euros in Spain data centres
-
Showdowns, young guns and own goals as Euro 2024 head into quarter-finals
-
Russia advances in east, kills five in Dnipro strikes
-
France prosecutors request rape charges against film director
-
Schumacher blackmail suspects had 'family photos'
-
EU clears Lufthansa's proposed ITA Airways stake, with conditions
-
Indian World Cup winners head home after hurricane delay
![Sri Lanka seals partial debt deal after financial crash](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/b7/e1/a8/Sri-Lanka-seals-partial-debt-deal-a-061414.jpg)
Sri Lanka seals partial debt deal after financial crash
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka said Wednesday it had clinched a restructuring deal with a majority of bilateral lenders covering up to $5.8 billion in debt, a key step towards recovery after a 2022 financial crash.
The agreement is hoped to allow Sri Lanka to allocate funds to essential public services and secure concessional financing for development, President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office said in a statement.
The country 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 reached a final restructuring agreement for $5.8 billion of debt with its bilateral lenders' Official Creditor Committee (OCC) in Paris, France," the statement read, without giving further details.
The Paris-based OCC includes members France, India and Japan.
China, the nation's largest single bilateral lender, is not a member.
But Sri Lanka's junior finance minister Shehan Semasinghe, who is in France for the negotiations, said he hoped to secure a deal with them too.
"We are also in the process of signing bilateral debt treatment agreements between Sri Lanka and Export-Import Bank of China," Semasinghe said on X, formerly Twitter.
- Teachers strike over pay -
The debt restructuring is a condition of a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Earlier this month, the IMF provided the latest tranche of $336 million out of a $2.9 billion rescue package, designed to help repair Colombo's ruined finances over four years.
Bilateral creditors account for 28.5 percent of Sri Lanka's outstanding foreign debt of $37 billion, according to treasury data from the end of March.
China accounts for $4.66 billion of a total of $10.58 billion borrowed from other countries.
Japan accounts for $2.35 billion and India for $1.36 billion.
Semasinghe said the government was in talks with international bondholders, but there was no agreement. A previous round of talks ended in deadlock in April.
Sri Lanka is unable to raise commercial loans until a deal with private creditors is struck.
However, the agreement with bilateral creditors allows the unfreezing of loans for ongoing infrastructure projects financed with funding from other countries.
Wickremesinghe is due to address the nation later Wednesday, when he is expected to give details of the latest deal.
Meanwhile, thousands of teachers from government schools went on strike demanding higher pay in Colombo, with police using water cannon and tear gas to disperse the protest.
Sri Lanka is due to hold a presidential election this year and opposition parties have vowed to renegotiate the terms of the IMF bailout.
The IMF's Sri Lanka mission chief Peter Breuer said the fund was willing to listen to alternative proposals from rival political parties, but said it was necessary to stick with the benchmarks set in the bailout.
Sri Lanka had made good progress, but the country was not out of the woods yet, he said.
G.M.Castelo--PC