India,  France and Japan have announced a common platform for negotiations among creditors to address the debt restructuring programme of Sri Lanka which is grappling with its worst economic crisis.

The representatives of the three creditor countries, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, held a press briefing on the margins of the annual spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington on Thursday.

"The aim of the event was to demonstrate the multilateral cooperation regarding the debt restructuring process among the creditors, together with Sri Lanka," said an official statement.

India Finance Minister Sitharaman expressed country's commitment to supporting Sri Lanka in dealing with its current economic crisis. The Finance Ministeremphasised that collaboration among creditors was important to ensure transparency and equality in the debt restructuring discussions.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe joined the conference virtually. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki described the launch of the common platform as a historical development. "To be able to launch this negotiation process gathering, such a broad-based group of creditors, is a historical outcome," he told reporters at the news conference

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