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IMF loan will help bring down interest rates – CBSL
By Saman Indrajith
Interest rates could be relaxed with a cash infusion via the IMF, the Central Bank officials, including Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, told the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) recently.
Dr. Weerasinghe said high interest rates had been adopted to limit growth to prevent the need for greater foreign exchange given the dwindling reserves.
“With a cash infusion via the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) from IMF, interest rates can once again be relaxed, and the market will once again have an opportunity to expand,” Weerasinghe said.
The Chairman of the CoPF said the Committee was committed to providing bipartisan support to the reforms put forward by the IMF.
The Committee is chaired by MP Dr. Harsha De Silva said that regardless of political allegiances, its members will stand by the reforms promulgated by the IMF and being executed by the Central Bank (CB). This comes in the wake of a Central Bank confirmation that they are confident of having an actual IMF first tranche disbursement within the 1st Quarter of 2023.
CoPF inquired about the severe social implications of such steep mechanisms to adhere to IMF conditions. The CB said the IMF was wary of the social impact to vulnerable communities and had proposed certain safeguards such as expenditure ceilings to negate those effects.
When the question of alternatives to an IMF bailout were discussed, the CB stressed that no other international financing/funding institute was willing to partner with Sri Lanka on its debt management unless they saw an IMF partnership materialize first.
With the ostensible debt treatment measures that an IMF programme accompanies, it reassures international agencies of Sri Lanka’s credibility to once more partner with the country for future ventures including debt management.
Following the conclusion of bilateral discussions between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, official-level talks between the delegations of Sri Lanka and India commenced this morning (05) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
Representing the Government of Sri Lanka were Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath; Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Anil Jayantha; Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake; Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, along with other senior officials.
The Indian delegation included Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and His Excellency Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, along with several other senior officials of the Government of India.
Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who arrived in Sri Lanka on the invitation of President Anura Kumara Disanayake on Friday [04] night, visited the Presidential Secretariat this morning (05).
The Indian Prime Minister was warmly welcomed by President Anura Kumara Disanayake upon his arrival at the Presidential Secretariat.
Prime Minister Modi is currently on a state visit to Sri Lanka, reaffirming the theme “Friendship of Centuries — Commitment to a Prosperous Future” which symbolises the longstanding ties between Sri Lanka and India. The Indian Premier is scheduled to remain in the country until tomorrow (06).
[PMD]
The official welcoming ceremony for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was held this morning (05) at the Independence Square in Colombo.
On arrival at the Independence Square the Indian Prime Minister was warmly welcomed by President Anura Kumara Disanayake.
Discussions between Sri Lankan and Indian delegations at the presidential secretariat
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Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi arrives at the presidential secretariat
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