Sri Lanka has a well-defined plan. Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, stated in an interview with CNN that a partial recovery from the current economic crisis is possible within the next five months.
People will have to endure hardships until then, he said. Mr. Weerasinghe stated that the new government will be able to reach a staff agreement with the International Monetary Fund very soon, and that the time frame will be determined by how the new government approaches negotiations to obtain financial support from the IMF.
Mr. Weerasinghe stated that during the technical level discussions with the International Monetary Fund, Sri Lanka’s plan was presented to the technical team.He stated that reaching a staff agreement is the first step in obtaining financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
Mr. Weerasinghe noted that it is possible to reach a staff agreement that includes a month if a stable government is formed and the plan presented by Sri Lanka is quickly implemented. He further mentioned that if a stable government is not appointed, the process may take longer.
He said the new government responds to the negotiations will determine everything.
He explained that a staff agreement could be reached in a month, but that this was only the first step. Mr. Weerasinghe pointed out that an agreement should be reached with the creditors who have provided loans to Sri Lanka for debt restructuring, and that the process will take several months to complete.
The Governor stated furthe that after completing these two steps, the International Monetary Fund will be able to provide assistance. As a result, Mr. Weerasinghe mentioned that the funds will be delivered by the International Monetary Fund by the middle of December.
Mr. Weerasinghe explaing further said that even if the Central Bank gives money to import petroleum products for the next few weeks, the responsibility of obtaining short-term financial facilities from friendly countries for the import of essential goods and petroleum products will be transferred to the new government.
Mr. Weerasinghe urged the public to be patient and await the new government’s decisions on how to recover from the economic crisis.