Govt. does not rule out assistance from IMF

While expressing hopes for an economic turnover in the coming months, Cabinet spokesman and Plantation Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said the government has not ruled out assistance from the IMF to bail out Sri Lanka from the current economic and foreign exchange crisis.

“We assess the situation with an open mind. We are in touch with the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other global financial agencies. The government has not taken a decision not to deal with the IMF. It was under the Mahinda Rajapaksa presidency that Sri Lanka obtained the highest amount of foreign loans from the IMF,” Minister Dr. Pathirana said.

During the previous Rajapaksa regime, Sri Lanka has obtained loans from the IMF, 16 times, he said.

The foreign remittances and tourist arrivals have recorded a steady increase in the last few months. The benefits accrued from vehicle and other nonessential imports were negated as a result of the sharp escalation of oil process in the international market and the three waves of the pandemic, he told the media.

”Sri Lanka’s problem is that Sri Lanka’s import bill exceeds the export income drastically creating a huge trade gap. For instance, Sri Lanka in 2021 has imported goods in excess of US$ 4.1 billion more than the value of our exports. As long as we take steps to contain the trade deficit, Sri Lanka cannot come out of this economic crisis,” Minister DR. Pathirana emphasized.(Sandun A Jayasekera)