IMF to work with new President AKD, welcomes creditor deal

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it looks forward to working with newly elected Ppresident Anura Kumara Dissanayake and welcomed the recent announcement of an agreement in principle between Sri Lanka and a group of its international bondholders to restructure $ 12.5 billion in bonds.

“We look forward to working together with President Dissanayake and his team towards building on the hard-won gains that have helped put Sri Lanka on a path to economic recovery,” a spokesperson for the fund said.

IMF said it will discuss the timing of its third review of the current program with Sri Lanka “as soon as practicable.” Full statement by the IMF spokesman: “We look forward to working together with President Dissanayake and his team towards building on the hard-won gains that have helped put Sri Lanka on a path to economic recovery since entering one of its worst economic crises in 2022.”

“We welcome the announcement of an agreement in principle between Sri Lanka and international bondholders’ representatives, subject to confirmation on comparability of treatment by Sri Lanka’s Official Creditors Committee. This represents significant progress in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process.”

“We will discuss the timing of the third review of the IMF-supported program with the new administration as soon as practicable.”