Sri Lanka sends delegation to IMF for crucial discussions

Colombo, April 18: The Sri Lankan government has sent a delegation to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for discussions over ways to get the lender's loans. The delegation, led by Finance Minister Ali Sabry, also includes Governor of the Central Bank, Nandalal Weerasinghe was sent on Sunday. The delegation is to visit the IMF headquarters and hold discussions in the next few days.

Sabry told media they expect to receive around $4 billion from the IMF in five tranches if the discussions are successful, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sri Lanka has been undergoing a serious economic crisis and foreign reserves stand below $2 billion.

Sri Lanka's Finance Ministry said on Tuesday that the government had decided to suspend normal debt servicing of all affected debts for an interim period till it puts together an orderly and consensual restructuring programme supported by the IMF.