US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has expressed hope that debt treatment for Sri Lanka could be finalised quickly, it was reported.
Yellen stated that this would help the International Monetary Fund (IMF) move forward with initial loan programme reviews.
Janet Yellen made the remarks at a media conference before a meeting of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bankers held in India on Sunday.
According to Reuters, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she was “eager” to work with China on areas of mutual interest, including debt restructurings for poorer countries, and that multilateral development banks needed reforms before capital increases could be considered.
Yellen said her visit to Beijing last week helped put the U.S.-China relationship on “surer footing” and that the world’s two biggest economies had an obligation to the world “to cooperate on areas of mutual concern”.
She further said a debt restructuring “user guide” was needed for borrowing countries and other stakeholders to provide clarity about the process.
Yellen said the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, which provides zero-interest loans to the world’s poorest countries, needed to be put on sounder financial footing.
The U.S. Treasury is ready to assist the IMF to consider options for this, including using internal fund resources, she said. (NewsWire)