President now expects IMF bailout next month

President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday said Sri Lanka would be able to begin the debt restructuring process soon.

Addressing an event organised by a private university in Colombo, President Wickremesinghe said that he was hopeful that Sri Lanka would receive the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approval for a USD 2.9 billion bailout package by March.

The president said the Sri Lankan economy was now stabilising and the country needed political stability to carry out the debt restructuring process.

He said that Sri Lanka had reached a preliminary agreement with the IMF to receive an extended fund facility (EFF) programme in 2022.

The President added that all major creditor nations had agreed to support debt restructuring.

Sri Lanka suspended its external debt repayment in April 2022 and entered into negotiations with the IMF for a bailout package.