International Monetary Fund staff and Sri Lankan authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the seventh review of the country’s Extended Fund Facility, IMF Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Evan Papageorgiou said on Tuesday.
Once the IMF Executive Board completes its review, Sri Lanka would have access to SDR 254 million (about US$345 million). Total support disbursed under the arrangement would then reach SDR 2.032 billion (about US$2.7 billion). The facility was approved on 20 March 2023 for SDR 2.3 billion (about US$3 billion).
Board approval depends on two conditions: the Finance Minister presenting the 2027 Budget to Parliament in line with programme parameters, and a financing assurances review confirming contributions from multilateral partners and progress on debt restructuring.
Mr Papageorgiou said the economy grew 4.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2026. Inflation was 8 per cent in September, and gross official reserves stood at US$6.9 billion at the end of August.
He said the government should let domestic fuel prices follow international movements while protecting vulnerable households through targeted cash transfers. He listed the Middle East war, global trade policy and El Niño as risks.
The IMF team had visited Sri Lanka from 10 to 23 September.
