Outcome of IMF discussions on Thursday morning

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday will make public its position on the discussions concluded in the country over a possible bailout package for Sri Lanka after the visiting delegation extended their stay in Colombo by a day.

A press conference is due to be held at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka at 11.00 pm regarding the outcome of the discussions held in Colombo from August 24 onwards.

In one of the concluding discussions the delegation today the delegaton met with members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party led by former President Maithripala Sirisena . It was the second meeting the delegation had with the SLFP.

The SLFP in a statement said they had appealed to the IMF to provide with focus on the poor, the samurdhi beneficiaries, farming community etc.

The IMF delegation was led by Chief Peter Bruer.

Earlier in the day Reuters reported that Sri Lanka and the IMF  have reached a preliminary, staff-level agreement on an emergency loan to the crisis-hit country and a formal announcement is likely on Thursday.

The IMF in a statement before the team arrived said “The objective is to make progress towards 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.”