Sri Lanka is on the brink of collapse as protests spread all over the country after the police open fire at protesters Wednesday morning. There were 13 people injured and one died as a result of the shooting.
The protest was fueled by the economic collapse of the country. Rising fuel costs along with food and power shortages cause massive protests. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the shooting will be thoroughly investigated.
Currently, Sri Lanka entered talks with the IMF for a bail-out fund.
“The IMF has commended on the steps already taken by the Finance Minister to mitigate the financial situation in Sri Lanka. IMF has assured their fullest support to Sri Lanka and a positive response has also been received to expedite the process to strengthen the support extended towards Sri Lanka,” the ministry said.
The bail-out fund negotiations are at an early stage with IFM recommending “adequate assurances” are needed to approve the fund.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka seeks support from India and China while waiting for the bail-out fund from IMF.
China responded to the request for “emergency humanitarian assistance” but remained silent on the debt rescheduling request. Sri Lanka is about to default on its payments with the Asian economic giant.
India will provide an additional $500 million in financial assistance to Sri Lanka for it to buy fuel, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister told reporters on Wednesday, adding Bangladesh was also willing to postpone a $450 million in swap repayments. “Assistance by the IMF will take about six months to come to us and it will come in tranches,” Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G. L. Peiris said. “During the intervening period, we need to find funds to keep our people supplied with essentials.”