ANKARA

Japan, India and France launched a common platform to restructure Sri Lanka's debt among its bilateral creditors, Japanese media reported on Friday.

The launch of the negotiation process over the cash-strapped South Asian nation was announced in Washington on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, according to Kyodo News.

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki called the initiative a "historic accomplishment."

The participation of Sri Lanka's largest bilateral creditor, China, in the initiative, remains uncertain.

The new platform is open to all creditors, Suzuki said.

As of September 2022, Sri Lanka had $35.1 billion in foreign debt, of which 19% was owed to China, 7%to Japan and 5% to India, Kyodo reported citing to data from Japan's Finance Ministry.

The island country is going through its worst financial crisis in decades because of economic mismanagement and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the IMF, Sri Lanka's public debt was at 128% of its gross domestic product as of end-2022, which is "unsustainable."

Sri Lanka received the first $330 million tranche of the IMF's nearly $3 billion bailout meant to support the island country.