IMF agrees with Sri Lanka on $344 million loan payout
The International Monetary Fund announced on Friday that it had reached an agreement with Sri Lanka on a loan program review, which will make approximately $344 million available to support the country’s economic reforms.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt of $46 billion in April 2022 after running out of foreign exchange to finance imports such as food, fuel and medicines, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
The last government reached a roughly $3 billion, four-year bailout loan from the IMF, and embarked on a reform process which involved cutting subsidies, and raising taxes to stabilize the economy.
That painful reform program has continued under the new leftist administration of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
“Sri Lanka’s ambitious reform agenda continues to deliver commendable outcomes,” IMF Sri Lanka mission chief Evan Papageorgiou said in a statement following discussions in Washington, confirming the fourth review of the program.
“The post-crisis growth rebound of five percent in 2024 is remarkable,” he continued, commending the country’s “substantial” fiscal reforms and adding that revenues had improved, official reserves had reached $6.5 billion, and the country’s debt restructuring process was “nearly complete.”
Once approved by the IMF’s executive board, the agreement announced Friday will make around $344 million in much-needed funds to support the Sri Lankan economy.
That would bring the total disbursed under the current program to around $1.7 billion, the IMF said.
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