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Sri Lanka keeps door open to a new IMF deal, says Dissanayake
With about six months left on the current bailout, the President said any new programme would have to put growth first. He warned that the Middle East war could push the fuel import bill to about $6 billion this year.
Key points
- President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Sri Lanka has not ruled out another IMF programme.
- Any new deal would need to put growth first while protecting stability gains.
- Fuel import spending could reach about $6 billion in 2026, up from about $4.4 billion in 2025.
Sri Lanka has not ruled out signing up for another International Monetary Fund programme when its current bailout ends, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Monday, but any new deal would have to be built around economic growth.
Speaking at a discussion organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Dissanayake said the government had made no final decision. It has neither decided to walk away from the IMF nor committed itself to a fresh programme, he said, and will use the roughly six months left on the current arrangement to weigh its options.
Growth after stability
The President said Sri Lanka had made considerable progress in restoring stability, but foreign exchange reserves still had to reach the level the government wanted and the country’s credit standing needed to improve further.
If the government does sign a new agreement, he said, it would be one aimed at growth that also protects the stability gained so far, and only if the IMF agreed to terms that support those goals. Senior officials at the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank are already discussing what such a programme could look like.
The final choice, he said, would depend on how the economy is placed, the strength of reserves and the size of any outside shocks. He added that there had been relatively few clashes between the government’s aims and its IMF commitments, which had allowed the programme to run without major disagreements.
The cost of the Middle East war
Dissanayake pointed to one such shock already under way. If the current trend continues, he warned, Sri Lanka’s spending on fuel imports could reach about $6 billion in 2026, against about $4.4 billion in 2025. He blamed the conflict in the Middle East.