The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is critical for Sri Lanka to swiftly complete the final agreements with the official creditors and reach a resolution with the external private creditors.
IMF mission team, led by Senior Mission Chief Peter Breuer, was in Sri Lanka from January 11-19 to discuss recent macroeconomic developments and progress in implementing economic and financial policies under the EFF arrangement.
Issuing a statement to convey its preliminary findings observed during the visit, the delegation says the economic reform program implemented by the Sri Lankan authorities is now yielding the first signs of recovery with positive real GDP growth in the third quarter of 2023, low inflation, increased revenue collection, and a build-up of external reserves.
Commending the commendable progress made by putting debt on a path towards sustainability, the IMF mission team highlighted that execution of the domestic debt restructuring was an important milestone.
However, swift completion of final agreements with official creditors and reaching a resolution with external private creditors remain critical, the statement underscored.
According to the delegation, progress in meeting key commitments under the IMF-supported program is set to be formally assessed in the context of the second review of the EFF arrangement alongside the forthcoming 2024 Article IV consultation assessing Sri Lanka’s economic health.