Export-Import Bank of China provides Sri Lanka with a debt extension

China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) has provided SriLanka with a debt extension.

According to a letter, EXIM offered Sri Lanka a two-year debt moratorium and stated that it would support the country’s efforts to secure a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Rivals in the region China and India are the two largest bilateral lenders to Sri Lanka, a 22-million-person country experiencing its worst economic crisis in seven decades.

The foreign ministry said, “China feels for Sri Lanka as it faces difficulties and challenges and has been helping with Sri Lanka’s socio-economic development as best as we can,”

India wrote to the IMF earlier this month, pledging to assist Sri Lanka with financing and debt relief, but the island nation also needs China’s support to reach a final agreement with the global lender.