Sri Lanka’s dilemma: Pay off debt or pay for milk, meds and gas (Rehana Thowfeek, Al Jazeera)

A lone bullock cart carrying a barrel of Kerosene, a symbol of life in Sri Lanka in the 1970s, is once again a common sight on the streets of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital as dwindling foreign currency reserves have hampered the imports of everyday essentials including cooking gas.

At the root of the problem is Sri Lanka’s enormous debt. The Gotabaya Rajapaksa-led government must service $7.3bn in foreign debt this year or default on its debt, an option that could hurt its reputation, making it harder to borrow money in international markets in the future at affordable rates — a possibility that could, in turn, precipitate a severe economic crash.

Sri Lanka’s dilemma: Pay off debt or pay for milk, meds and gas | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera