President to convene meeting with opposition’s party leaders, IMF delegates on Monday

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has convened a meeting on Monday (March 11) with the leaders of accepted opposition parties in parliament and the visiting high-level delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

During the meeting, the opposition party leaders will be offered the chance to discuss the IMF’s proposals with the delegates.

In a proactive move, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, leader of the National People’s Power (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader S. Sridharan have been invited to participate in these deliberations.

The meeting is slated to be held at the Presidential Secretariat, with an open invitation extended to interested individuals to join alongside the invited leaders.

The initiative stems from a recent request made by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva in Parliament, prompting the President to extend a warm invitation to all recognized opposition parties to collaborate with the government in navigating the challenges posed by the IMF program.

President Wickremesinghe has underscored the importance of successfully advancing the IMF program for the country’s reconstruction. To this end, he emphasized the necessity of collective accountability from all parties involved.

Key figures set to participate in the discussions include Finance State Ministers Shehan Semasinghe and Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, President’s Senior Advisor on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayaka, Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Treasury Secretary and Finance Ministry’s Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena and President’s Senior Advisor on Economic Affairs Dr. R. H. S. Samaratunga.

A team led by IMF’s Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka, Peter Breuer, is in Sri Lanka for the second review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program for the island nation.

The review process kicked off on Thursday (March 07) with an opening meeting with President Wickremesinghe during which Mr. Breuer said the IMF program is exhibiting promising signs of efficacy, translating into tangible outcomes owing to the Sri Lankan authorities’ commitment to the program and its implementation.

He further expressed his satisfaction at witnessing the economy starting to turn around, underscoring the significance of this progress.

In response, President Wickremesinghe reiterated his government’s steadfast commitment to sustaining the momentum and advancing the nation’s economic agenda.

Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe told Ada Derana that the government aims to conclude a successful review by June and reach a staff-level agreement which will help unlock the third tranche of the global lender’s bailout package of USD 2.9 billion.

The IMF had previously said the second review of Sri Lanka’s bailout could be completed in the first half of 2024, provided it manages to meet debt restructuring and revenue targets set under the program.

The IMF executive board cleared the first review of Sri Lanka’s bailout package in December 2023, providing approximately USD 337 million in funds as the second tranche to help tackle the fallout from the country’s worst financial crisis in decades.

Sri Lanka received the first tranche of the loan in March 2023 after the executive board approved the 48-month EFF program.