President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday said Sri Lanka was open to entering a fresh International Monetary Fund (IMF) program after its current arrangement ends, but stressed that no decision had been taken as the Government weighs growth ambitions against the need to preserve economic stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking during a fireside chat at the inauguration of the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026, organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the President said discussions were underway on the possibility of a new agreement that would shift the focus from crisis recovery towards economic growth without reversing the gains made under the existing IMF-backed program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are at a mid-level and open about it,\u201d he said, adding that the Government would use the remaining six months of the current arrangement to assess its options before determining the future of its engagement with the Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President said Sri Lanka had made considerable progress in restoring economic stability with improved international ratings, but foreign exchange reserves still needed to reach the desired level and the country\u2019s credit standing required further improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any decision on a successor program would depend on the state of the economy, the strength of reserves and the extent to which Sri Lanka could withstand further external shocks amid heightened global uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dissanayake warned that Sri Lanka\u2019s fuel import expenditure could rise to around $ 6 billion in 2026 if current trends continued. \u201cIn 2025, the fuel import bill for the year was over $ 4.04 billion ($ 4,042 million) and during the first eight months of 2026 it has reached over $ 4.08 billion ($ 4,082 million),\u201d he said, highlighting the potential impact of the Middle East conflict on the country\u2019s external position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The projected increase would place additional pressure on foreign exchange requirements at a time when the Government is seeking to consolidate the recovery and strengthen its external buffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President said the evolving international situation was among the factors that would shape the Government\u2019s assessment of whether the economy could withstand further shocks without additional support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However he did not indicate that a new IMF program was inevitable, though his remarks suggest that the decision will be influenced by the resilience of the recovery and the country\u2019s capacity to manage external risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President said the existing IMF program had primarily focused on restoring economic stability following the crisis, while a possible successor arrangement should give greater weight to growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are examining what form such an agreement could take, with senior economic officials, including representatives of the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank, involved in discussions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the administration would be prepared to enter into another agreement if it could reach an understanding with the IMF that supported Sri Lanka\u2019s economic growth objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he reiterated that the Government had neither decided to end its engagement with the Fund nor committed itself to a fresh program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President also defended the Government\u2019s cooperation with the IMF, noting there had been relatively few contradictions between the administration\u2019s economic objectives and the commitments under the current program. \u201cThis has enabled implementation to continue without major disagreements,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sri Lanka has entered into or sought IMF support on 17 occasions since joining the institution. Its current arrangement is a 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approved on 20 March 2023, with financing of approximately $ 3 billion, equivalent to SDR 2.286 billion. The program is scheduled to run until 19 March 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source : Daily FT <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday said Sri Lanka was open to entering a fresh International…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t