State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe yesterday said that creditors have assured to provide their fullest support to Sri Lanka to overcome the economic crisis by restoring stability in the country.

He made these remarks during a special announcement made to the Parliament on the post-meetings that took place on the side-lines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings held from 10 to 16 October in Washington DC.

The State Minister said that during the meetings with the World Bank Executive Director, the IMF Executive Director, and other member countries, Sri Lanka was assured of the IMF and World Bank Group’s complete support.

He also stated that bilateral discussions were held with the IMF’s Managing Director and Deputy Managing Directors, as well as World Bank Group officials such as the World Bank’s Operations Managing Director, the World Bank’s South Asian Region Vice President, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Regional Vice President, the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) Team, and others.

“The impact of multiple crises that have generated unprecedented problems for developing countries was a prominent focus of this year’s Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group,” he added.

During the Plenary Session of the Annual Meetings, the IMF’s Managing Director emphasised the severe challenges that the IMF’s 190 member countries face.

“Her message in a snippet was that the world is entering a new danger zone, one that is more vulnerable to shocks that can quickly knock countries off course; as a result, governments must be more proactive in building resilience so that the proper decisions can be made to avoid the worst outcomes,” Semasinghe told the Parliament.

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