The UN has asked Sri Lanka to introduce a temporary basic income and negotiate “debt-for-nature” swaps tied to environmental conservation as part of measures to mitigate the country’s economic meltdown, as Colombo begins talks with the IMF.
The UN Development Programme made the proposals in a document seen by the Financial Times that was submitted to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government and that will be reviewed by the cabinet that was sworn in this week.
Sri Lanka’s lack of foreign exchange has left the debt-laden island of 22mn unable to repay its loans, triggering an economic and political crisis with mass protests over shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Rajapaksa has faced sustained calls to resign.