Statement by the IMF Team on Sri Lanka

Washington, D.C. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and other senior members of IMF management met with a Sri Lankan delegation led by Finance Minister Ali Sabry and Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe during the 2022 IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., and discussed policy actions to address economic challenges. The IMF team for Sri Lanka held preliminary technical discussions with the delegation about an IMF-supported program. Today, the mission chief for Sri Lanka, Masahiro Nozaki, issued the following statement:

"The Sri Lankan delegation and the IMF team had fruitful technical discussions on the authorities' request for an IMF-supported program from April 18 to 22." The discussions focused on recent economic and financial developments in Sri Lanka, the importance of implementing a credible and coherent strategy to restore macroeconomic stability, and the importance of strengthening social safety nets to mitigate the negative impact of the current economic crisis on the poor and vulnerable. The IMF team applauded the authorities' intention to engage in collaborative dialogue with their creditors.

"In the future, the IMF team will support Sri Lanka's efforts to overcome the current economic crisis by collaborating closely with the authorities on their economic program and engaging with all other stakeholders in support of a timely resolution of the crisis."