’’Now our duties are done’’ - President briefs House on IMF agreement

President Ranil Wickremesinghe today revealed that the government received the letter of financial assurance from Exim Bank of China last night. The letter of agreement, which both the President and the Governor of the Central Bank signed the same night, was then forwarded to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"Now our duties are done. I hope that before the end of this month, by the fourth week, the IMF will do its duty. After that we get the first round of money from the World Bank and ADB (Asian Development Bank)," the President told MPs. 

Mr Wickremesinghe however, warned that this time, there is no room for failure in completing every task agreed upon with the IMF, unlike the previous 16 occasions.

"If Sri Lanka fails to fulfil the tasks agreed upon with the IMF, it could result in the IMF discontinuing its collaboration with the country, and this could in turn lead to other multilateral and bilateral financial institutions being unable to work with Sri Lanka."

Accordingly, if the existing agreement with the IMF is breached, foreign economic activities will be largely hindered, and Sri Lanka would have to pay loans taken from foreign countries and private banks, the President remarked. "An annual amount of approximately USD 6-7 billion of foreign loans are due to be paid until 2029, and we do not have the foreign exchange to pay this debt. Thus, we need the IMF to continue the agreed debt sustainability discussion with foreign creditors."

He stressed that the agreement with the IMF is of special importance to restore the country's economy, and there is no alternative path to be seen at present.

Once the IMF agreement is reached, the agreement would be tabled in Parliament, Mr Wickremesinghe said. He requested the House to accept it or give an alternative.

Please click on the following link to read the President's full speech:

https://pmd.gov.lk/i-have-fulfilled-my-obligation-anticipate-the-imf-to-fulfil-its-responsibility-by-the-end-of-march/