Special IMF team in March for final EFF review
A special team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be arriving in Sri Lanka in March to reach a staff level understanding on the seventh and final review on the US$1.5 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), official sources said.
They will meet with Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and various stakeholders and be appraised of Sri Lanka’s ongoing efforts to bring the economic reform programme back on track following the Presidential election 2019.
The Seventh and final review of the EFF arrangement can take place any time after April 3, 2020, based on the EFF schedule, with the arrangement set to expire on June 2, an IMF official revealed.
Sri Lanka will be holding discussions with the IMF on the possibility of obtaining the final tranche of $190 million or to enter into a different co-operation arrangement in accordance with current economic policies, a senior government official said.
The IMF media relations division quoted its mission chief for Sri Lanka Manuela Goretti as saying that the fund is ready to engage with President Rajapaksa’s administration on the continuation of the EFF arrangement in the development of a comprehensive policy agenda.