How can we improve Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability?

Wednesday, 30 September 2020 00:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Advocata Institute DeepDive Series event goes live today

“How can we improve Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability?” a discussion organised by Colombo-based independent policy think-tank Advocata Institute will be live-streamed today from 3.45 p.m. onwards on the Advocata Facebook page.

The discussion will feature an eminent panel consisting of Harvard University’s Center for International Development Growth Lab Director Prof. Ricardo Hausmann, International Centre for Tax and Development Founding CEO and Senior Fellow, Institute of Development Studies Professorial Fellow, and political economist Prof. Mick Moore, and Verité Research Executive Director and economist Dr. Nishan De Mel. The panel would be moderated by former Central Bank of Sri Lanka Risk Management Department Director and economist Dr. Roshan Perera and Advocata Institute Research Manager Aneetha Warusavitarana.

The Advocata Institute remains committed to finding policy solutions to key challenges holding back Sri Lanka’s development. Debt sustainability remains a key structural issue affecting Sri Lanka’s economy. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, economies have experienced worsening debt positions. Sri Lanka’s position has become precarious, with total repayments (of capital and interest for 2020) amounting to an estimated $ 4.2 billion according to the Ministry of Finance Annual Report. Moody’s further downgrading Sri Lanka’s credit rating further highlights the seriousness of the crisis. The discussion aims to discuss the issue in-depth and explore possible pathways forward.

The Advocata Institute invites members of the public to tune into the live-streamed event on the Advocata Institute Facebook page and partnering print, digital, and electronic media pages. Questions will be taken online through SLIDO.com using the event code #DEEPDIVE.

Advocata Institute’s Chairman Murtaza Jafferjee’s three-part primer on debt sustainability is already out for public consumption and can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB9AgjGYUTJhpdjAid4Y2Lg/featured. Interested parties can register for the event at advocata.org/events