The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged Sri Lanka to sustain the ongoing reform momentum through the remainder of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.

Julie Kozack, Director of the IMF Communications Department said that Sri Lanka has made commendable progress in implementing some very difficult but much-needed reforms.

“The effects - these efforts are really starting to bear fruit. We see a remarkable rebound in growth following Sri Lanka's crisis. Inflation is low, international reserves are continuing to grow, revenue collection on the fiscal side is improving, and the debt restructuring process is nearly complete. So, I think it's really important to recognize, you know, the significant efforts that Sri Lanka has taken and also the tremendous progress that has been made. Right now, of course, we are very much focused on the current EFF, and therefore, as I mentioned, it's going to be critical for Sri Lanka to sustain the reform momentum through the remainder of this EFF program,” she told reporters.

On April 25th, IMF staff and the Sri Lankan authorities reached Staff–Level Agreement on their fourth review of Sri Lanka's economic reform program. The program and Sri Lanka's ambitious reform agenda continue to deliver commendable outcomes. Performance under the program remains strong overall, and the government remains committed to program objectives. Completion of the review is pending approval of the IMF's Executive Board, and it is contingent on the completion of prior actions.

“What I can add is that our IMF team, of course, is closely engaged with the authorities to assess the measures that were recently announced by the regulator on June 11th. And these include a 15 percent increase in in electricity tariffs and the publication of a revised bulk supply transaction account guidelines for this. So, these were two prior actions. Once the review is completed by our Executive Board, Sri Lanka would have access to about $344 million in financing, and we will announce the Board date for Sri Lanka in due course,” she said.

She also said that sustaining reform momentum, both with macroeconomic policy reforms and, importantly, some of the growth-enhancing reforms, is critical for all countries in the IMF membership, including Sri Lanka.

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