A special virtual press briefing was held this morning on the IMF-supported 48-month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program of SDR 2.286 billion (approximately USD 3 billion) for Sri Lanka.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today said that it did not interfere in the Local Government election processes and had never recommended postponing those elections in Sri Lanka.”We never recommended postponement of local government elections in Sri Lanka”; and “would not interfere in a country’s electoral processes”
- IMF says the first tranche of the loan will be released in the next couple of days. Sri Lanka will immediately receive an initial disbursement of USD 333 million.
- IMF says the disbursement can be converted into Rupees and can use the funds to repay government loans and other expenditures.
- Sri Lanka must present a debt restructuring strategy by the end of April to reach the IMF targets to achieve debt sustainability.
- The International Monetary Fund highlights that implementing anti-corruption and governance reforms is a fundamental aspect of the EFF-supported program, as these measures are crucial for ensuring that the progress made from the reforms directly benefits the people of Sri Lanka
- By June of this year, a plan is expected from authorities to gradually eliminate the existing import and exchange restrictions, according to the International Monetary Fund
- Peter Breuer, the Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka at the IMF Asia & Pacific Department, has emphasized the importance of pursuing tax revenue growth in a manner that is friendly to economic growth, while also protecting the poor and vulnerable. The tax reforms implemented under the EFF program, according to the Senior Mission Chief, have been specifically designed to be progressive in nature, with the aim of ensuring that those with higher incomes make a greater contribution