By: Isuru Parakrama
October 13, Colombo (LNW): President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has confirmed that Sri Lanka is considering the possibility of entering a fresh agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after its current programme ends, although no decision has yet been reached.
Addressing a discussion organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), the President said the Government was exploring arrangements that would support economic expansion while protecting the stability achieved through the existing IMF-backed reforms.
He explained that the current programme had primarily been designed to help Sri Lanka recover from the severe economic crisis and restore confidence in its finances. A future arrangement, however, would need to place greater emphasis on stimulating growth without reversing that progress.
Although the country had made headway in stabilising its economy, Dissanayake acknowledged that further work was required to build foreign exchange reserves to satisfactory levels and improve Sri Lanka’s credit standing.
Senior officials from the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank are currently examining possible approaches for the next phase of engagement with the IMF. The discussions are intended to establish what kind of arrangement, if any, would best serve the country’s economic priorities.
The President stressed that the Government had neither decided to end its relationship with the Fund nor committed itself to a further bailout programme. Any decision would be based on the state of the economy, the strength of external reserves and Sri Lanka’s ability to absorb potential international shocks.
Concerns over rising energy costs have added urgency to the assessment. Dissanayake warned that Sri Lanka’s annual fuel import bill could climb to around US$6 billion in 2026 if current trends continue, compared with approximately US$4.4 billion in 2025. He pointed to the conflict in the Middle East as a major source of uncertainty, with developments in the region posing risks to import costs and the country’s financial position.
The President also maintained that the Government’s economic agenda had largely remained compatible with the conditions agreed under the existing IMF programme. He said this alignment had enabled the administration to pursue its objectives without significant disputes over the programme’s implementation.
With roughly six months remaining under the current arrangement, the Government intends to use the coming period to evaluate the country’s economic outlook and determine whether a new agreement would provide the right framework for the next stage of recovery.
The central challenge, Dissanayake indicated, will be to sustain hard-won economic stability while creating more room for growth in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
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