President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has requested international donor agencies to provide a debt moratorium or debt deferment facility to all vulnerable developing nations to the COVID – 19 risk.

President urged Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to forward this request to multi-lateral and bilateral lending agencies.

President points out this relief would be helpful to manage COVID-19 Social Distancing, Public Health and Social Security Systems in those countries.

Sri Lanka has over US $ 4 billion to repay in 2020, with the next large payment of $ 1 billion due in September but the economy has been hit by COVID – 19 pandemic which has cripple exports.