It is reported that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already informed Sri Lanka that it cannot release the $2.9 billion loan to Sri Lanka without restructuring previous debt with China and India, two of Sri Lanka’s main creditors.

In the meantime, it is reported that China and India have called to sign two Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Sri Lanka before restructuring the debts.

Sources say that during an initial exchange of views with China, Sri Lanka has been informed that a FTA should be signed before restructuring the debt. Noting that a similar agreement has been signed with India in 1998, China is of the opinion that an equal opportunity is only fair.

Meanwhile, sources add that India has also informed Sri Lanka that the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) agreement, which would ensure Indian investments and service supply ventures being exempted from taxes, should be finalized before the debt restructuring talks.

It is learnt that neither China or India will participate in debt restructuring talks until these two pacts are finalized, which will in return, lead to a delay in the IMF loans.