Sri Lanka has requested Japan to co-chair Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring discussions, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament, while discussions will also be initiated with China.
An earlier version of this story had said, quoting the president, that Japan had agreed to be co-chair of the forurm of creditor nations, but a statement from the president’s office has corrected his speech saying that Sri Lanka had requested Japan to be co-chair.
Sri Lanka has already started preliminary discussions with China.
“After the communist party conference we will start talks with China,” he said.
It is not clear whether China will agree to be the co-chair.
In the case of Zambia, France and China were co-chairs.
Sri Lanka has to first get an agreement with official creditors to get International Monetary Fund approval for an economic reform and bailout plan that is now a staff level agreement.
Sri Lanka has already started discussions with India.
India has given favourable response, President Wickremesighe said.
“We want to get Japan, china and other creditors to agree as soon as possible,” Wickremesinghe said.
“After official creditors we will talk with London Club.”
The London Club is a group of bond holders.