Pending IMF staff-level agreement for SL tied to 2025 budget

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it expects Sri Lanka to submit its 2025 budget aligned with the parameters of the IMF to secure the next US $ 333 million financing.
“The staff-level agreement that I mentioned, which was reached in November, will be presented to the Executive Board or is subject to the Executive Board approval but it’s also contingent upon, among other things, implementation by the authorities of prior actions, including submission of the 2025 budget that is consistent with the parameters identified under the programme,” said IMF Spokesperson Julie Kozack addressing the first IMF press briefing for 2025.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will present the maiden budget of the new government on February 17.

On November 23, 2024, the IMF staff and Sri Lankan authorities reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme. Once approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, Sri Lanka will have access to about US $ 333 million. The board meeting is expected to take place in the coming weeks.
Kozack noted that that Sri Lanka’s ambitious reform agenda is delivering commendable outcomes, with the economy having expanded by 5.5 percent in the final quarter of 2024. Average headline and core inflation remain contained well below the target during the fourth quarter of 2024 and international reserves increased to US $ 6.1 billion at the end of 2024.
On Thursday, IMF Executive Director Krishnamurthy Subramanian met Dissanayake, where a comprehensive discussion took place regarding the progress of the EFF agreed with the IMF.
According to a statement by the President’s Media Division, discussions were held regarding the progress and the government’s involvement in continuing the programme moving forward.