Sri Lankan Prime Minister highlights the “success” of the first round of talks with the IMF

July 5. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed on Tuesday that the first round of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ended with “success, although he stressed that the aid will depend on the debt restructuring program.

In a series of statements before Parliament, Wickremesinghe has indicated that Sri Lanka will present a program in this regard next August and has explained that the contracted companies are working on it, according to information from the ‘Daily Mirror’ newspaper.

“Our country has already held talks with the IMF in the past, but this time the situation is different. In the past, we held talks as a developing country. (…) The country is bankrupt and we are facing a series of difficulties that didn’t exist before,” he acknowledged.

Thus, he lamented that “only when the IMF is satisfied with the plan will an agreement be reached.” “Positive and productive talks have been held regarding economic policies and reforms. The next step is to deliver the plan for debt restructuring, which is being prepared by experts,” he said.

“Our economy has weakened. We are trying to reverse this,” he asserted in relation to the serious crisis that the country is going through and that has led the population to demonstrate against the government on several occasions.