Sri Lankan officials are expected to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for support as Colombo faces a severe economic crisis, including a shortage of fuel and essentials. Talks are likely in April when the global lenders are scheduled to hold their annual sessions.

For over a year now, the country has been struggling to maintain its foreign exchange reserves, forcing the authorities to prioritize essential imports. The crisis has now reached a level where fuel and power shortages look imminent. [Read More]

The Sunday Times reported that senior Sri Lankan officials are already in touch with the IMF and the World Bank. Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa is expected to visit Washington DC in April for exploring possibilities of assistance.

Earlier for months President Gotabaya Rajapaksa avoided approaching the IMF and insisted on working out bilateral mechanisms with India and China for economic assistance. New Delhi, a major economic and development partner of Sri Lanka, announced economic assistance worth over $2.4 billion. [Read More]

China on the other hand remains non-committal on restructuring loans—a key Sri Lankan demand from Beijing—and relied on providing material assistance like donating one million metric tonnes of rice. [Read More]

On Monday, Sri Lankan private transport associations warned the government of strike if the authorities failed to come up with a clear roadmap for providing fuel to private bus operators. Amid growing fuel shortage, several power plants have already cut their production, forcing authorities to implement schedule power cuts.
 
The tourism industry, one of the country’s biggest foreign exchange earners, bringing annually almost $4 billion, is also facing the brunt of the economic crisis. Industry players have warned of adverse impacts to the industry amid frequent power cuts. [Read More]

(SAM)