INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The International Monetary Fund will initiate discussions with Sri Lankan authorities on a possible loan program in the coming days, IMF
spokesperson Gerry Rice said on Thursday (Mar 31), as the Asian country seeks to stave off a severe economic crisis.Rice said the
discussions would continue during the visit of Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa in Washington for the spring meetings of the IMF
and World Bank next month.A 70 per cent drop in foreign exchange reserves since January 2020 has left Sri Lanka struggling to pay for
next month, but gave no further details.He confirmed that Sri Lankan finance minister would visit Washington next month for talks with IMF
officials, as reported by Reuters last week.Sri Lanka - which must pay about USD 4 billion in debt this year - will also seek World Bank
assistance after it enters into an IMF program, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.#13;
--Agencies
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
