Bangladesh remains hopeful that Sri Lanka will repay the debt of $200 million that it owes to the country by March 2023, the Governor of the Bangladesh Central Bank Abdur Rouf Talukder has expressed a positive outlook after meeting with the CBSL Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe.
The two Governors met in Washington D.C. on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Talukder noted that Bangladesh granted a loan of USD $200 million under a currency swap deal to Sri Lanka, which it was supposed to return in three instalments in February and March 2023.
Although Sri Lanka was due to make the repayment earlier, Bangladesh extended the deadline for repayment in light of the crippling economic crisis which had plagued Sri Lanka.
On the talks with Weerasinghe, Talukder said, “We had a very good meeting. The governor assured me that they will meet the deadline for repayment. They are now restructuring their debts and have spoken to India, Japan and China about it.”
Last year, Bangladesh agreed to give Sri Lanka loans of at least $200 million from its foreign exchange reserves under a currency swap deal.