Sri Lanka decides to suspend foreign loan repayments

Sri Lanka will temporarily suspend foreign debt payments to avoid a hard default, the central bank governor said on Tuesday, with its limited foreign reserves required for imports of essential items such as fuel.

The best action that can be taken is to restructure debt and avoid a hard default,” Governor.The governor said the action was being taken in good faith, emphasizing that the country of 22 million people had never defaulted on its debt payments. “We need to focus on essential imports and not have to worry about servicing external debt,” he said.