New government to hold in-depth discussions with IMF in US later this month

• IMF team to pay “courtesy call” on President Dissanayake today

By Nishel Fernando

Sri Lanka’s new government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, plans to engage in detailed discussions on potential changes to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme later this month following a review.

Cabinet Spokesman Vijitha Herath announced at the government’s first Cabinet media briefing that a local delegation would travel to the IMF headquarters in the United States to discuss the programme.
“We will review the content of the agreement. Then we will go forward,” Herath said.

He added that the preliminary agreement with international sovereign bondholders would also be a topic of discussion with the IMF during the upcoming meeting.

The delegation is expected to address concerns over domestic debt restructuring, which has faced criticism for perceived unfairness.

An IMF team is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka today and will be in the country till 4 October, for preliminary discussions with President Dissanayake and the National People’s Power (NPP) Economic Council on advancing the programme. 

However, Herath characterised this visit as a ‘courtesy call’ and stressed that no substantial matters would be discussed.

Herath also confirmed that no decisions regarding the IMF deal were made during the government’s first Cabinet meeting on Monday.

“We have not taken any new decisions during yesterday’s Cabinet meeting,” he said.