IMF team to visit Sri Lanka next week for policy talks, combined reviews
March 19, 2026 08:37 pm
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from March 26 to April 9 to hold policy discussions and aims to complete the combined Fifth and Sixth reviews under Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Arrangement.
This was announced by the Director of the Communications Department of the IMF, Julie Kozack, responding to a question during the weekly press briefing today (19).
“The debt restructuring is nearly complete, and gross international reserves have been increasing significantly. However, Sri Lanka, as noted, is significantly exposed to the conflict in the Middle East through trade, remittances, and tourism channels, which can weigh or may weigh on its economic outlook.”
“With regard to what comes next for Sri Lanka, we expect an IMF team to visit Sri Lanka from March 26th through April 9th to have discussions on economic policies, and there, the aim will be to complete a combined fifth and sixth review under the programme.
“And obviously, as part of those discussions, the team will be engaging with the authorities to better understand what could be the potential impact of the Middle East conflict on Sri Lanka’s economy. So that, and the team, when they return, will obviously have an updated assessment of Sri Lanka’s economy and how the IMF can best support, continue to support Sri Lanka,” she said.
A staff-level agreement for the 5th Review was reached on October 9, 2025.
IMF staff and the Sri Lankan authorities reached the staff-level agreement on economic policies to conclude the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka’s reform program supported by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility.
Once the review is approved by the IMF Executive Board, Sri Lanka will have access to about US$347 million in financing.
Authorities have been planning to combine the 5th and 6th reviews due to the economic impact of Cyclone Ditwah and shifting global demand, and an IMF team was expected to visit to advance the 6th tranche review process.
