Nasheed designated to coordinate foreign aid to crisis-hit Sri Lanka

Maldivian Parliament Speaker, former President Mohamed Nasheed has been designated to coordinate foreign aid to crisis-hit Sri Lanka.

Media and Communication Director at People’s Majlis, Hassan Ziyaau, said that Nasheed held a phone conversation with the newly appointed Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday.

Ziyaau detailed that Nasheed and Wickremesinghe discussed the current situation at Sri Lanka over the phone call. He added that Wickremesinghe had also requested Nasheed’s assistance in coordinating foreign aid to Sri Lanka, to overcome the ongoing financial crisis; a request which Nasheed had assured he will comply with.

Sri Lanka is currently facing its worst financial crisis in more than 70 years – resulting from the economic mismanagement of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration.

President Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister last week in a bid to quell the island nation’s political and economic crisis.

The president’s brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, stepped down as prime minister on May 9 amid violence that left nine people dead and more than 200 wounded. Protesters have demanded the powerful Rajapaksa family resign to take responsibility for leading the country into the economic crisis.

The country is nearly bankrupt and has suspended repayment of about USD 7 billion in foreign loans due this year out of USD 25 billion to be repaid by 2026. Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt is USD 51 billion. The finance ministry says the country currently has only USD 25 million in usable foreign reserves.

Wickremesinghe said about USD 75 billion is needed urgently to help provide people with essential items, but the country’s treasury is struggling to find even USD 1 billion.