IMF agrees in principle to new tranche for Sri Lanka

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reached a preliminary agreement to provide new funds to Sri Lanka, which is recovering from an economic crisis.

According to the IMF, nearly US$345 million will be made available under a recovery programme worth about US$2.9 billion.

Sri Lanka fell into a severe economic crisis in 2022 after failing to repay about US$46 billion in foreign debt. The IMF said the agreement, reached during the recovery process, is an important achievement since then.

However, the IMF has warned that high energy prices, the climate impact of El Niño and the conflict in the Middle East could increase risks to the economic recovery. The fund also said that changes in global trade policy could have a negative impact on economic improvement.