SL will remain a middle-income country: President’s office

Sri Lanka will remain a middle-income country, the Presidential Secretariat said yesterday, contradictory to the statement made by Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawaradena. 

“Sri Lanka no longer qualifies for International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loans due to a downgrade of the country’s credit rating.Therefore, the Cabinet approved a proposal to request the World Bank to grant the country eligibility to obtain loans offered by the International Development Association (IDA),” the Presidential Secretariat said in a statement. 

It further said that this is with the aim of obtaining concessionary funding from the International Development Association (IDA) — an arm of the World Bank that helps the world’s vulnerable countries. This facility is called “Gap”.
Twelve countries including Indonesia have availed themselves of this facility when they were facing an economic downturn similar to Sri Lanka. The Government is pursuing a “reverse graduation” policy for a limited period of time.

Mr. Gunawardena said that the Cabinet has approved a proposal to downgrade the country to a low income country in a bid to seek international aid.