The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday (07) Sri Lanka has secured financing assurances from all major bilateral creditors, paving the way for the IMF board to consider approval of a long-awaited $2.9 billion four-year bailout agreed last year.
The IMF said its board will meet on March 20 to review a preliminary staff-level agreement first signed in September.
Approval is expected since the board generally will not add items to its agenda unless its members are ready to act.
“Sri Lanka has now received financing assurances from all major bilateral creditors,” Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department said in a statement.
“This paves the way for consideration by the IMF’s Board on March 20 the approval of the Staff Level Agreement reached on September 1, 2022 for financing under an Extended Fund Facility,” Srinivasan added.
Meanwhile, China’s deputy ambassador in Colombo Hu Wei officially presented the financial assurance letter issued by the Exim Bank of China to finance secretary Mahinda Siriwardena at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.
The deputy ambassador revealed that large–scale Chinese companies are looking forward to visiting Sri Lanka in the near future to explore new investment opportunities.
Secretary to the president Saman Ekanayake was also present on this occasion. Addressing parliament, president Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed confidence the pact with the IMF could be signed before the end of this month.
With the receipt of the assurance letter from China’s Exim Bank, an agreement signed by him and the Central Bank governor was sent to the IMF, he said.
The president said the pact with the IMF as well as government plans and a draft roadmap would be presented to the House.
According to sources at the Presidential Secretariat, once the IMF approves the credit facility, there would be an overhaul of the cabinet.
‘Kanin Konin’ of Neth News has the details, and much more on the political circle:
