Sri Lanka's economy has stabilized - IMF representatives praise the President

Representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) point out that Sri Lanka's economy has now reached a stable level with strong resilience, recovering from the crisis situation that prevailed in the past. They stated this during a special discussion held yesterday (02) at the Presidential Secretariat with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The delegation pointed out that this economic stability has been built especially on strengthening foreign reserves, systematically managing state revenue, and successfully achieving the expected economic growth targets, and expressed their strong appreciation for the economic progress achieved under the current government's administration.

The main objective of this official meeting was to review the progress of the economic reform process currently being implemented by Sri Lanka under the International Monetary Fund's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program. Accordingly, the current status of the fifth and sixth reviews of the relevant program was discussed at length. In addition, the President and the delegation exchanged views on recent economic developments in the country and the successes achieved to date.

Attention was also focused on how to plan future activities with the IMF program, while preserving the economic stability already achieved. The global challenges arising from the war situation in the Middle East region were also discussed. The President pointed out that the government has already launched a systematic program to properly manage the potential impact on fuel prices and the energy supply network in the country due to this situation. He also emphasized that all possible steps would be taken to minimize the difficulties and hardships faced by the general public even in the face of such external crises.

Even in the face of such external challenging situations at a global level, the government's program of effectively managing public life and the national economy without allowing the currently achieved economic growth to collapse, earned the special appreciation of the IMF representatives. Representing the International Monetary Fund at this critical discussion were Mr. Evan Papageorgiou, Head of IMF Operations in Sri Lanka, and his delegation. From the side of the Sri Lankan government, a group of senior officials including Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, and Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, also participated.