IMF Approved 2nd Review Of Sri Lanka's Program, Claims Foreign Minister Ali Sabry

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC on Wednesday (12) night claimed that the International Monetary Fund approved the 2nd review of Sri Lanka's program.

In March 2023, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 48‑month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with an amount of about US$3 billion.

The EFF-supported program aims to restore Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, mitigate the economic impact on the poor and vulnerable, safeguard financial sector stability, and strengthen governance and growth potential.

In March 2023, the Executive Board’s decision enabled an immediate disbursement of about US$333 million.

In December 2023, the IMF Board completed the first review under the 48-month Extended Fund Facility with Sri Lanka, providing the country with access to about US$337 million to support its economic policies and reforms.

The completion of the first review allowed for an immediate disbursement of about US$337 million, bringing the total IMF financial support disbursed by then, to about US$670 million.

In March 2024, IMF staff and the Sri Lankan authorities reached staff-level agreement on economic policies to conclude the second review of the 4-year EFF-supported program and the 2024 Article IV Consultation. Once the review is approved by IMF Management and completed by the IMF Executive Board, Sri Lanka will have access to about US$337 million in financing.

At the time of filing this report (12:25 AM on June 13, 2024), the International Monetary Fund had yet to release an official press statement on the Executive Board's decision on the second review of Sri Lanka's Extended Fund Facility.