Sri Lanka, IMF to start next round of technical discussions

COLOMBO: The International Monetary Fund would begin the next round of technical discussions with Sri Lanka from May 9 to May 23, IMF' mission chief for Sri Lanka Masahiro Nozaki has said. Nozaki said on Friday in a statement that the IMF is committed to assisting Sri Lanka, in line with the IMF's policies.

"Because Sri Lanka's debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval of IMF financing, including through a Rapid Financing Instrument, would require adequate assurances that debt sustainability will be restored," he said. The two sides held the first round of discussions at the IMF headquarters last month.

Sri Lanka hopes for a Rapid Finance Instrument (RFI) facility as well as a larger Extended Fund Facility (EFF) from the IMF to overcome its foreign currency shortage issues that had led to an economic crisis.