CB chief optimistic about talks with IMF

Sri Lanka had made good progress in the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, said on Tuesday (30) night, talking to the media, in Colombo.

“We have made good progress in the negotiations with the IMF. Hopefully, we will be able to reach the first milestone, a staff-level agreement with the IMF soon. Once we reach that agreement with the IMF, it means that we have a credible programme in our hands,” he said.

Dr. Weerasinghe said that the agreement would come with important policy reforms necessary to stabilize and revitalise the country’s economy.

He said that the interim Budget, presented to Parliament by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Tuesday, provided the basis for economic recovery.

The CBSL Governor also said that coming out of the crisis would be a painful process for the citizens of the country. However, he was optimistic about the outcome.

“A lot of businesspersons write to me that they find it hard to continue because of high interest rates and import restrictions. However, there have been improvements in the past few months. A few months ago, the country was on the verge of shutting down,” he said.(RK)