The Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to convene on February 28, 2025, to review and approve the third assessment of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.
IMF officials and Sri Lankan representatives reached a staff-level agreement on the Third Review of Sri Lanka’s EFF plan on November 23, 2024. Once the IMF’s Executive Board authorizes it, Sri Lanka will be granted access to approximately USD 333 million in funding.
Previously, the IMF stated that the disbursement of the fourth tranche of Sri Lanka’s EFF program was awaiting the Executive Board’s approval, contingent upon the authorities’ fulfillment of prior conditions, including the presentation of the 2025 Budget that aligns with program guidelines.
However, during an IMF weekly press briefing on February 06, IMF Spokesperson Julie Kozack highlighted that Sri Lanka’s bold reform agenda is yielding positive results, noting the economy grew by 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.
“Both headline and core inflation have remained under control, staying well below the target in the fourth quarter of 2024. Additionally, international reserves rose to $6.1 billion by the end of 2024,” she remarked.
In response to a journalist’s inquiry about Sri Lanka’s 2025 Budget, the IMF Spokesperson clarified:
“Regarding the specific question on the budget, I can inform you that the staff-level agreement, which was concluded in November, will be presented to the Executive Board for approval, but it is also contingent upon, among other things, the implementation of prior actions by the authorities, such as the submission of the 2025 Budget that meets the program’s criteria.”
Therefore, the IMF’s Executive Board meeting for the third review of the EFF program follows Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s maiden full Budget speech, the 79th Budget Speech of Independent Sri Lanka, presented to Parliament on Monday, February 17.
