Global Economists Call for Halt to Debt Repayments following Ditwah

COLOMBO (News 1st): A group of 121 of the world's eminent economists, including Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, have issued a call for Sri Lanka’s debt payments to be suspended due to the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

"Sri Lanka is now confronting a severe economic shock triggered by the recent cyclone,

extensive flooding and landslides, which has inflicted extensive damage to infrastructure,

livelihoods, and key sectors of the economy. This environmental emergency is poised to

absorb - and potentially exceed - the extremely limited fiscal space created by the current debt restructuring package," the group said.

"Therefore, we call for immediate suspension of Sri Lanka’s external sovereign debt payments, and a new restructuring that restores debt sustainability under the new circumstances. We propose the adoption of a genuinely sustainable framework that:

• Recognises climate-driven disasters as systemic, not exceptional, shocks.

• Provides significant debt cancellation - with no punitive conditions - to free up fiscal

space for disaster recovery, social protection, reconstruction and development.

• Prioritises human welfare, environmental protection, and long-term viability over

financial obligations to external creditors.

Only a fundamental rethinking of the global debt regime - one based on justice and

sustainability - will offer Sri Lanka a realistic chance to recover from the climate impacts and build an equitable future for all," the group said.