Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has met with the president of Sri Lanka to discuss the South Asian country's financial crisis.
The two leaders spoke in Tokyo for about half an hour on Thursday.
Sri Lanka suspended external debt payments in April of last year after fiscal policy failures and other factors had triggered sharp depreciation of the country's currency as well as price hikes.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe thanked Japan for chairing talks on May 9 to seek a solution for his country's debt problem.
Kishida and Wickremesinghe agreed that all creditors should participate in such talks and seek a solution in a transparent manner.
The two also discussed the situation in the region and global issues, including disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.
They agreed to further develop bilateral ties between the two nations.