NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st August, 2022) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in Sri Lanka has been extended by one day to continue negotiations with the country's authorities, mission Chief Peter Bruer said on Wednesday.
"The IMF Mission in Colombo has been extended by one day because discussions are still ongoing with the authorities," Bruer was quoted by the EconomyNext news service as saying.
The IMF team will complete the mission and issue a press release on September 1, Bruer said, adding that the IMF members and Sri Lankan authorities seek to reach a preliminary agreement on the provision of an emergency loan to the country.
The country, already mired in debt, is seeking about $3 billion in financial assistance from the IMF to solve its myriad economic problems, according to media reports.�
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted country's tourist flow, which led to a shortage of foreign Currency and the worst economic crisis since independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. The crisis triggered a sharp rise in energy prices and the subsequent shortage in food and basic necessities, as well as constant power outages.
When the crisis broke out, the former President Gotabai Rajapaksa fled the country after a popular uprising against the economic hardship. Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe replaced Rajapaksa and has already held several rounds of talks with the IMF team on restructuring its debt in accordance with the IMF-supported economic restructuring program.� �
