Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka will stabilize its foreign reserves on its own and will not seek any assistance from anyone, Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa  told Parliament today.

Winding up the committee stage debate of the budget in the House, Minister Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka will not seek IMF assistance if its conditions cannot be accepted. No one will seek a loan from a bank if the conditions it lays to lend is not favorable. Our stance is that we will stabilize our foreign reserves on our own,” he said.  

IMF officials are already here and conferring with the Sri Lankan government and I have already met them. They come here annually, carry out a study on our economic situations and submit a report to us. We only implement recommendations which are realistic. We went to the IMF in 1961, as did I during the regime of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. I listen to their talks. Our government is the only government which met their conditions effectively in the past,” he added.  

We will not default any loans. Our intention is to settle all debts and tell the world that we will not borrow from any one anymore. We will make this nation a debt free one,” the Minister stressed.(Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)