Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe confirmed that Sri Lanka plans to announce a plan to deal with its domestic debt this week, in line with IMF benchmarks. In an interview with France24, he dismissed fears that China is delaying the process, after Chinese creditors didn’t join official debt talks in April.

Last week’s news that Zambia has concluded an initial debt restructuring deal with its major bilateral creditors raised hopes that similar deals could follow soon for other debt-distressed countries. However, Wickremesinghe was also at pains to reassure India (another major creditor) that the presence of Chinese companies at Sri Lankan ports doesn’t constitute a security threat.