<span style="color: #222222;">Sri Lanka's central bank has said, it had become challenging and impossible to repay external debt, as it tries to use its dwindling foreign exchange reserves to import essentials like fuel. Central Bank of Sri Lanka's governor, P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, told reporters that they need to focus on essential imports and not have to worry about servicing external debt. Weerasinghe said, the suspension of payment would be until the country came to an agreement with creditors and with the support of a loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).<br />''<br />''Tax cuts and COVID-19 pandemic badly hurt Sri Lanka's tourism-dependent economy and exposed the government's debt-fuelled spending. The island nation's reserves have slumped more than two-thirds in the past two years.  The country has foreign debt payments of around Four billion dollars due this year, including a One billion-dollar international sovereign bond maturing in July. Street protests against shortages of fuel, power, food, and medicine have gone on for more than a month in the country. </span>