Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe is confident that Sri Lanka will be able to reach a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) soon, on the disbursement of the second tranche of the US $ 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
An official delegation led by Semasinghe attended the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund 2023 Annual Meetings, in Marrakech, Mororcco.
“Concluded an important week for #SriLanka at IMF and World Bank #2023AnnualMeetings. Engaged with partners to discuss opportunities to enhance the progress made towards economic recovery and sustainability. Further, we are confident of reaching the staff-level agreement soon,” Semasinghe said in a message on X, formerly Twitter.
An IMF staff mission last month concluded a visit to Sri Lanka, under the first review of the EFF but failed to strike a staff-level deal, as Sri Lanka had failed to achieve the government revenue targets set by the IMF.
Also, Sri Lanka is yet to strike a deal with its foreign creditors for debt restructuring.
During his visit to Marrakech, Semasinghe met with Paris Club Chairman Emmanuel Moulin as well as William Roos, who serves as Co-Chairman and Christophe Boris, who holds the position of Vice Chairman.
He said the meeting was “useful to realise the high level of international support to ensure Sri Lanka’s debt sustainability. We appreciate Paris Club’s efforts to assist Sri Lanka”.
Sri Lanka’s private creditors have already submitted a proposal, while China has announced a tentative agreement to restructure the US $ 4.2 billion debt owed to its Exim Bank.
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