The IMF delegation led by Senior Mission Chief Peter Breuer met Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and key ministers of the newly-formed government at the Presidential Secretariat today, to discuss the next steps in the IMF program. Mr Dissanayake urged the IMF to maintain a balanced approach that considers the hardships faced by citizens. He assured that under his leadership, social spending allocations would be utilized effectively, with priority given to combating child poverty and malnutrition and providing better support for differently abled individuals.

The President reiterated his administration’s commitment to the fight against corruption, a key component of the mandate granted by the people. He assured the IMF team that his government would implement stringent laws to enhance the legislative and institutional structures to uphold transparency and accountability. The team also met officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in connection with the review of the country’s financial situation and the financing program.

The IMF team is in Sri Lanka to assess economic policies, progress on ongoing reforms and the implementation of previous agreements with the IMF. Upon successful completion of the review, the global lender is expected to release the next instalment of the loan worth 330 million USD to Sri Lanka.

The IMF had approved a 2.9 billion USD Extended Fund Facility available to Sri Lanka over 48 months in tranches to help its economy recover from the economic crisis. The island witnessed an acute Forex shortage in 2022 resulting in a short supply of essentials which are imported by Sri Lanka