Colombo the 31st of August : Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said the country has made significant progress in the talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the midst of the current economic crisis. “I can confirm that we’ve made great advances in the talks with the IMF.We hope to be able reach the first important milestone, a staff-level agreement with the IMF within the next few days,” Xinhua news agency quoted Weerasinghe as saying the evening of Tuesday.
“Once we have reached that accord with the IMF it means we have an enviable program in our hands,” he said.
Weerasinghe declared that the accord will be accompanied with important policy changes which are essential to stabilize and revive the economy affected by the economic crisis, which is the most severe since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948.
He stated that the interim budget as presented before Parliament by the President Ranil Wickremesinghe earlier in the day on Tuesday, forms the basis to begin the process of recovery.
The Governor also stated that getting out of the crisis will be a difficult process for the people of the nation.But, he was optimistic about the outcome.
“A number of businesspeople send me letters and say they are struggling to sustain their business due to the impact of the high rates of interest and restrictions on imports.However there have been some improvements in the last few months.
“A several months ago the country was on the brink of closing down,” he said.
