International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday said bankrupt Sri Lanka will receive a conditional $2.9 billion bailout to repair its battered finances.
The announcement come following a bruising economic crisis that saw the island nation’s president chased from Sri Lanka.
Months of acute food, fuel and medicine shortages, extended blackouts and runaway inflation have plagued the country after it ran out of dollars to finance even the most essential imports, reports AFP.
Sri Lanka has defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt and incensed protesters stormed the home of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July, with the leader subsequently fleeing the island and issuing his resignation from Singapore.
In a statement, IMF said, “Sri Lanka has been facing an acute crisis… disproportionately borne by the poor and vulnerable.”
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
