The International Monetary Fund called on Sri Lanka to speed up its debt restructuring and warned that any delay could undermine efforts to overcome the country’s worst economic crisis.
Sri Lanka had hoped for a quick deal with creditors after defaulting on $46 billion in foreign debt in April last year, but restructuring talks only began last month.
It has said it will sell off state-owned enterprises to raise revenue, which has doubled taxes, but the IMF said it must be done immediately.
The IMF representatives also said that the first formal review of the lending program will be conducted in September.
“Achieving timely restructuring agreements with creditors in line with program goals at the time of the first review is essential to restoring debt sustainability. The IMF said in a statement.
