IMF staff plans to visit Sri Lanka August 24-31

ECONOMYNEXT – International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff plans to visit Colombo during August 24-31to continue discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities on economic and financial reforms and policies, the IMF said in a statement.

The objective of the planned visit is to make progress towards reaching a staff-level agreement on a prospective IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement in the near term, the IMF said on Saturday August 20.

“Because Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by the IMF Executive Board of the EFF programme would require adequate assurances by Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored.

“IMF staff would also continue the engagement with other stakeholders during the visit,” the organisation said.

The team will be led by IMF officials Peter Breuer and Masahiro Nozaki, the statement added. The two officials were previously in Colombo in June for initial discussions.

Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBS) Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said on Thursday August 18 that the country plans to wrap up a staff level agreement with the IMF by the end of the month.

Related:

Sri Lanka expects to wrap up staff-level agreement with IMF end-August: CBSL