World Bank intervention
World Bank has approved Sri Lanka’s eligibility to access concessional financing from the International Development Association (IDA) to help stabilize the economy and protect livelihoods, President’s Media Division (PMD) said on Tuesday (06).
The PMD said that financing from IDA is offered at low interest rates and will allow Sri Lanka to implement reforms to stabilize the economy and protect the livelihood of millions of people facing poverty and hunger.
Through IDA, the World Bank would provide concessional financing, technical assistance, and policy advice to Sri Lanka to implement reforms that drive recovery, the PMD said.
“At this time of critical need in Sri Lanka, we appreciate the World Bank’s rapid response and its vision as the first development partner to respond in record time through repurposing existing operations to help preserve Sri Lankan institutions for basic service delivery. The reverse graduation to IDA will enable us to access resources to help sustain institutions to become more resilient and responsive to the needs of the people of Sri Lanka,” Ali Sabry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka said.
From 2017 Sri Lanka has received lending from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which provides financing at higher rates.
With Sri Lanka’s reverse-graduation the total number of IDA countries is now 75.