Colombo: Sri Lanka’s rupee, which suffered severe depreciation because of the island nation’s unprecedented economic crisis since 2022, has started to make gains in comparison to other currencies, State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said on Friday.The Sri Lankan rupee was boosted by the Reserve Bank of India’s extended currency swaps.
The Indian assistance was worth over $4 billion which provided a lifeline to the ailing economy until the deal for an IMF bailout of $2.9 billion was sealed in March 2023. Siyambalapitiya on Thursday said the country has maintained strict financial discipline while taking unpopular decisions to facilitate economic recovery and continues to service its multilateral debt despite the default announced in 2022.
He said $2.5 billion debt in 2022 and $2.6 billion debt in 2023 had been repaid to multilaterals such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.