World Bank Approves USD 700 Million For Crisis-Hit SL

Colombo
The World Bank has approved USD 700 million in financing to help Sri Lanka recover from the current economic crisis and provide relief to the poor and vulnerable people, the biggest funding tranche since the IMF deal in March. Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is currently struggling with the worst economic crisis in history. In 2022, the economy had contracted by over seven per cent as the economic difficulties forced people to take to the streets with protests across the island nations that also led to the ouster of Sri Lanka’s powerful Rajapaksa family from politics. The World Bank Board of Directors Wednesday approved USD 700 million in financing to help Sri Lanka to recover from the current economic crisis and provide relief to the poor and vulnerable people, the Washington-based bank said in a press release. Of this amount, USD 500 million have been assigned for budgetary support and USD 200 million for social security. This is the biggest financial relief to Sri Lanka since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached an agreement with Sri Lanka last March to provide an Extended Fund Facility of USD 2.9 billion. In March, the IMF approved a USD 3 billion bailout programme to help Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis and catalyse financial support from other development partners, a move welcomed by Colombo as a historic milestone in the critical period. Sri Lanka has been hit hard by a catastrophic economic and humanitarian crisis, sparked by years of mismanagement and the raging pandemic.