President’s clarification on IMF agreement conveyed to parliament

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has informed the Speaker of Parliament that the Cabinet of Ministers & the Opposition would be briefed on the staff-level agreement reached International Monetary Fund (IMF) soon.

Conveying the President’s clarification, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena stated, “The President has informed me that even the Cabinet has not been briefed about these discussions. Though they say that it has been agreed with the officials, it has to be approved by the board of the IMF.”

However, before that, the President needs to have discussions with the other creditor countries and their report will also be included in the finalized agreement, the Speaker explained.

After the President receives all the details, a Cabinet briefing will be called as the Cabinet of Ministers are yet to be informed about the matter, he added.

For this briefing, the Opposition and the Speaker of Parliament will be invited. Any other interested party can participate in the briefing as well, Speaker Abeywardena said further.