IMF plans in-person Sri Lanka mission in coming weeks for policy talks
People stand in line to buy domestic gas tanks near a distributor, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Jun 1, 2022. (File photo: Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte)
LONDON: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is planning a staff-level mission in the coming weeks to Sri Lanka "to engage on policy discussions on a programme", the fund's spokesman Gerry Rice said on Thursday (Jun 9) in Washington.
The goal of the next mission will be to build on the technical discussions already held with Sri Lanka's authorities in May.
"The timing of a staff level agreement will depend in part on the strength of the policies that the authorities would promote", Rice added during the fund's regular media briefing.
The nation-island is in talks with the IMF for a loan package to help navigate its worst economic crisis in seven decades.
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe requested on Wednesday to send a staff-level delegation to the crisis-hit country as soon as possible.
