අලුත් IMF වැඩසටහනකට ජනපතිගෙන් කොළ එළියක්

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Sri Lanka would consider a further agreement with the International Monetary Fund if it could help the country preserve economic stability while pursuing growth. He made the remarks at the 2026 Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit, answering a question on Monday, October 12, according to EconomyNext. Lankadeepa also reported his willingness to consider a new arrangement on those terms.

The current IMF Extended Fund Facility is expected to run until March 2027, provided Sri Lanka meets its targets. Dissanayake, who also serves as finance minister, said the programme had helped establish economic stability. He reported progress in credit ratings and said the country was on track to meet the facility’s foreign-reserve goals.

No commitment has been made to enter another programme. EconomyNext reported that specialists from the Finance Ministry and Central Bank were reviewing possible arrangements. Dissanayake said Sri Lanka was open to another IMF programme but was not obliged or driven by urgent need to seek one. He also said economic policy had broadly aligned with IMF expectations during the current programme, with few major disagreements.

Dissanayake said Sri Lanka was better equipped to handle domestic disruptions than shocks from abroad. He cited a fuel import bill of US$4.042 billion last year and US$4.082 billion in the first eight months of this year, saying the full-year figure could reach US$6 billion. EconomyNext reported that he linked the increase to effects of the Middle East conflict and referred to wider global uncertainty.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.