Japanese and Sri Lankan leaders on Thursday confirmed the importance of "transparent and fair" debt restructuring, apparently warning against China's alleged debt-trap diplomacy, which uses loans as leverage to gain concessions from borrower nations.
The agreement came during a meeting in Tokyo between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who expressed appreciation for Japan's's role in restructuring his nation's debt.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its debt in April 2022 amid the worst economic crisis since the South Asian country, with a population of 22 million, gained independence from Britain in 1948, with China emerging as the biggest bilateral creditor to the nation in recent years.