Sri Lankan delegation to IMF headed by the Minister of Finance & Mass Media, Mr. Mangala Samaraweera met with Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. on 15th January to have discussions on the possibility of resuming the IMF programme in Sri Lanka.
Minister Mangala Samaraweera updated the IMF management on the recent developments regarding the Sri Lankan economy.
The Sri Lankan delegation discussed the possibility of resuming the IMF programme with a view to stabilizing the economy following the disruptions of post 26thOctober 2018, and stressed on Sri Lanka’s commitment to the economic reform agenda.
The IMF has disbursed over US Dollar 1 Billion out of a USD 1.5 Billion three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) loan it had agreed in 2016.
IMF Managing Director Ms. Lagarde stated that the IMF remains ready to support Sri Lankan authorities in these endeavors and a team from the IMF is scheduled to visit Colombo in February 2019 to resume programme discussions.
Sri Lankan delegation included Non-Cabinet Minister of Public Distribution and Economic Reforms Mr Harsha de Silva, Secretary to the Treasury Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, the Governor of Central Bank Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Senior Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Dr. N.P. Weerasinghe, , Economics Advisor to the Minister of Finance & Mass Media Mr. Deshal de Mel and Alternate and the Executive Director of the IMF for Sri Lanka Mr. M. Siriwardena.