IMF team here next week to continue crucial bail-out talks

A team from the International Monetary Fund will be arriving in Colombo next week to continue their discussions with Sri Lankan authorities on the economic and financial reforms and policies that are needed for the country to come out of the current economic crunch.

A statement from the IMF headquarters in Washington said the visit, which is planned for between 24-31 August, is to make progress toward reaching a staff-level agreement on a prospective IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement in the near term. ‘Because Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by the IMF Executive Board of the EFF program would require adequate assurances by Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored, the statement said. IMF staff will also continue their engagement with other stakeholders during the visit. The IMF team will be led by Mr. Peter Breuer and Mr. Masahiro Nozaki.