Milestone Agreement Reached on a Memorandum of Understanding between the Official Creditor Committee and Sri Lanka on Debt Restructuring

The agreement on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that outlines the details of Sri Lanka’s debt treatment between the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) and the Sri Lankan government was reached. As a co-chair of the OCC, Japan highly welcomes this milestone agreement.

This morning, H.E. MIZUKOSHI Hideaki, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka called upon Hon. M.U.M. Ali Sabry, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador MIZUKOSHI congratulated on this milestone agreement and promised continued support to Sri Lanka’s recovery from the economic crisis. Foreign Minister Sabry expressed his profound gratitude for Japan's excellent leadership in the debt restructuring process, including its pivotal role in creating the OCC. Foreign Minister Sabry also added that the support extended by the Government of Japan and its people significantly contributed to promoting the debt restructuring process.

With the aim of resolving Sri Lanka's debt issues, Japan established and led the OCC as a coordination framework, including non-Paris Club creditors, for the first time in debt restructuring for middle-income countries.

The final agreement reached with Sri Lanka under this framework is a significant milestone. Japan hopes this case will serve as a leading example of addressing future debt issues in other middle-income countries.

Japan expects Sri Lanka to implement equal and equitable debt treatment in a transparent manner with other creditor countries and private creditors.

Furthermore, Japan commends the Sri Lankan authorities for their ongoing efforts in implementing the comprehensive economic and social reforms essential to guide the country back to a sustainable path. Japan reaffirms its continuous and unwavering commitment to supporting Sri Lanka.