Ranil meets IMF official on economic instability

Colombo : Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe discussed with Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva over the country’s economic crisis, the prime minister’s office said in a statement Wednesday. The discussions, held on Tuesday, came as Sri Lanka has decided to seek IMF assistance to face the ongoing crisis and restructure its foreign debts after the government suspended all the external debt repayments on April 12, Xinhua news agency reported. The prime minister’s office said the IMF managing director pledged support to Sri Lanka during the difficult times. Sri Lanka is presently facing one of its worst economic crises as the country faces a shortage in foreign currency, leading to a shortage in essential supplies including food, medicines and fuel. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said that economic assistance has been sought from friendly nations as well as the IMF to bring the economy back on track.