IMF representatives to visit Sri Lanka for economic assessment

A team of representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team is to visit Sri Lanka next week for a critical assessment of the country's economic situation, Finance Ministry sources said. 

A senior official of the ministry added that the mission aims to evaluate recent economic trends in the country and the progress achieved on economic reform programme endorsed by the IMF.

The IMF team’s visit is significant ahead of the second review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement which is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of 2024,

Sri Lanka has to enter into agreements with its official and private creditors before the second review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), IMF sources pointed out.

The agreements entered with creditors in-principle have to be converted into real agreements before the second review.

Sri Lanka has entered into in-principle debt restructuring deals with the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) led by France, China and India and also with Exim Bank of China.

However, Sri Lanka is yet to strike a deal with its commercial creditors or the bondholders. An initial proposal involving restructuring debt linked to GDP growth by the bondholders was rejected by the Sri Lankan authorities. (Bandula)