The World Bank on Thursday approved $700 million in budgetary and welfare assistance for Sri Lanka.
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The World Bank on Thursday approved $700 million in budgetary and welfare aid for Sri Lanka, the largest funding tranche for the crisis-hit island nation since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement in March.
About $500 million of the money will be allocated for budgetary support, while the remaining $200 million will be earmarked for welfare support for those worst hit by the crisis.
“Through a phased approach, the World Bank Group’s strategy focuses on early economic stabilization, structural reform, and protection for the poor and vulnerable,” Faris Haddad-Zervos, the World Bank’s country director for Sri Lanka, said in a statement.
“If sustained, these reforms could put the country back on the path to green, resilient and inclusive growth,” Zervos said.
Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst financial crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948, as the country’s foreign exchange plunged to a record low and triggered its first foreign debt default last year.
The IMF approved a bailout of about $3 billion in March, giving Sri Lanka the hope that additional funding of up to $4 billion will come from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral agencies.
The island nation will issue a domestic debt restructuring program this week to further settle its debt with bondholders and bilateral lenders including China, Japan and India.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV Staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)