Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are requested to speed up relief measures for countries facing loan risks.
She points out that China, as a big creditor of Sri Lanka, welcomes Japan, India and France to join the effort to rescue Sri Lanka from its debt crisis.
The minister also emphasized the need for a broader, better and faster approach to solving the problem “outside” the common framework of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
India is currently chairing the G-20 summit.
Ms. Sitharaman said that the two financial priorities that she wanted India to fulfil during that tenure were the reform of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and the imposition of debt relief measures for many stressed economies.
She pointed out that Japan, which currently holds the G-7 presidency, quickly took the lead in solving this debt problem, while Sri Lanka was involved.
“A quick committee of the group of creditors was formed along with Japan, France and India and it started to resolve the issue. Indeed, it is an open forum. It is not limited to only three countries. China is welcome to participate as one of the country’s major lenders,” said Ms. Sitharaman.
“In such cases, Japan’s leadership has been well-received for its effective approach to solving the debt crisis. “This is an excellent example of G-7 and G-20 coming up with solutions to the problem,” she said.
