Cabinet agrees to hear out all MPs on IMF agreement

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Cabinet of Ministers had approved a proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to seek the views of all parliamentarians on the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena told the media on Tuesday.

Addressing the media, Gunawardena said that the IMF had approved financing worth 3 billion U.S. dollars in late March and that there were diverse opinions on the policy measures adopted by the government in line with the agreements with the IMF.

All documents related to the agreement had been presented to the Parliament in March by the President, Gunawardena said.

He said that the parliament would debate the IMF agreement when it convenes next on 25 April.

Gunawardena said that public finance was under the purview of parliament and that the debate would allow all MPs to reveal his or her stance on the IMF agreement.

Last week, Sagala Ratnayake, Chief of Staff to the President and Senior Adviser on National Security, told the Colombo-based foreign diplomats that the government had agreed to tough reforms to obtain the IMF bailout.

Sri Lanka started the related negotiations with the international lender in 2022 after the country was hit by a severe economic crisis.

The IMF approved a bailout worth 3 billion U.S. dollars on March 20.