Sri Lanka Makes U-Turn And Decides To Remain Middle-Income Country
Date
10/13/2022 1:07:07 AM
(MENAFN- Colombo Gazette) Sri Lanka today made a u-turn on an earlier announcement and decided to remain as a middle-income country.
Cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena had said earlier that the Cabinet of Ministers had granted approval for a proposal to downgrade Sri Lanka's status from a middle-income country to a 'low-income country.
However, just minutes later the President's Office said that Sri Lanka will seek eligibility for International Development Association (IDA) loans while remaining as a middle-income country.
Sri Lanka no longer qualifies for International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loans due to a downgrade of the country's credit rating.
Therefore, the Cabinet approved a proposal yesterday (10) to request the World Bank to grant the country eligibility to obtain loans offered by the International Development Association (IDA).
“This is with the aim of obtaining concessionary funding from the International Development Association (IDA) — an arm of the World Bank that helps the world's vulnerable countries. This facility is called“Gap”, the President's Media Division said.
Twelve countries including Indonesia have availed themselves of this facility when they were facing economic downturn similar to Sri Lanka. The Government is pursuing a“reverse graduation” policy for a limited period of time. (Colombo Gazette)
MENAFN13102022000190011042ID1105012609
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.