Sri Lanka's IMF bailout agreement | Inside Story

Years of economic mismanagement and the impact of the pandemic have pushed Sri Lanka into its worst financial crisis since 1948.
That's led to months of protests, forcing President Mahinda Rajapaksa to flee the country last July.
On Tuesday, Sri Lankans woke up to the news that gives some hope -- a nearly 3-billion dollar bailout from the major financial agency of the United Nations.
But the bankrupt nation is expected to face tough changes in the next 4 years.

Will Sri Lanka succeed in coming out of the widespread shortages and a soaring cost of living?

Presenter: Nick Clark

Guests:

In Colombo, is Eran Wick-rama-ratne- member of Sri Lanka's parliament and former state minister of finance.

Ganeshan Vignaraja, Policy Adviser and Senior Research Associate for Overseas Development Institute, Colombo.

Ahilan Kadeel-gama, political economist and Chairman of the Northern Cooperative Development Bank, Jaffna


#SriLanka #SriLankaEconomicCrisis #IMF #SriLankaIMFBailout #InsideStory

[manikkalore]

Sri Lanka a country of educated people, will come out this crisis stronger than ever... good luck from India 🇮🇳🇱🇰.

[யேசுநேசன்]

God bless Shri Lanka ☦️. Get rid of corruption in every level of the country, start from politicians, then only then SL will prosper. Learn from Singapore 🇸🇬 ❤

[josephselvaratnam]

Unless there is complete change and removal of the corrupt core of what has driven the country to ruin right from independence, the IMF bailout is simply an Elastoplast even if it is used with some propriety. The Crux of this country's problem is establishing a stable society for all it's citizens in order to build up to a point where it can be economically viable. Learn from Singapore.

[rohanperera]

Why are you showing the queues in all your footage? Queues were there last year not anymore.

[sapphirehairtransplants]

How to trust AlJazeera news when you get Gotabaya and Mahinda mixed up. Shoddy journalism imo

[AmjathY]

It was Gotabhaya Rajapaksha who was President last July as a International Newsoutlet ensure that your facts are correct when reporting

[mahindasamarasekera]

Only solution left to save Sri Lanka is by kicking out all the corrupt politicians out of parliament and choosing a new group of honest people to run the country.
Nothing will change otherwise

[velaithansukumaran]

By the end of July 2023 SL will be back to square one.

[vijayaratnamrajaratnam]

Ask the government why they cannot make fish available to the people at an affordable price? We are an Island and the price we pay for fish is unrealistic. Indians are poaching, the Chinese and Japanese have been given licenses to fish in our waters. We can overcome some of the malnutrition issues faced by the poor.

[gunslinger]

Al Jazeera tried their best to stop this 😝😝😝😝😝 Better luck next time bro. 😝😝

[josephselvaratnam]

Political and Social reforms have to happen alongside the economic and financial development. The fact remains the leadership and government are just not there for this to happen.

[noobplayer]

Thank you for Indian people who helped Sri Lanka (except LTTE tamils)

[ChamaraPrabath]

The economic crisis is a blessing for Sri Lanka.

[jambiscuit]

At least we are getting back, the country.

[nickchandra]

This joker Eran Wickramaratna preaching about fiscal discipline here. What was he doing previously? UNP and JVP if they get into power will finish off the country. Ranil is the only guy who can manage this currently but these two groups are trying to sabotage his efforts for their own political ends. This is the final lifeline and Sri Lanka needs to grab it with both hands and get out of this hole. They also need to restructure the economy and not import everything from a safety pin upwards. There is a concept called Strategic opportunism which is short term cost cutting to survive and long term growth. They are not mutually exclusive but can be done at the same time. It is similar to a private company making people redundant and at the same time acquiring a company to change direction. This is a much bigger challenge but we have an educated resilient people and a talented younger generation who need to take over and get rid of these self serving hypocrites like Eran, Sajith Premadasa, Rajapaksa's and JVP leadership.

[nycguycpt]

This is the door to servitude to the loan organizations. This is a stop gat measure. May God ease the plight of the citizens.

[armazad]

A significant positive development since independence in 1948, despite the several wrong turns taken over the years, based on communalism, racism and religious intolerance. It is hoped that some of the wrongs will be corrected, but it will be very painful.

This is an opportunity to get the house in order.

[azmeaffan]

Correction- Gotabaya not Mahinda Rajapaksa fled ....Good news for those who deserve help not those who emptied the coffers 😂

[jambiscuit]

Small countries cannot survive in a non globalized world

[happymelon]

😅😅
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on March 7 that China has support to restructure Sri Lanka's debt, which means that the Sri Lankan government will soon receive assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

All western media don't want talk about this.