The Government intends to complete Sri Lanka's current programme with the International Monetary Fund when the four-year Extended Fund Facility arrangement expires in March 2027, Minister and Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake has said.
Rathnayake said the Government does not currently see a need to enter another IMF programme linked to debt restructuring after the existing arrangement concludes.
However, he also said Sri Lanka would continue its normal dealings with the IMF and World Bank as international financial institutions.
Not an early termination
The statement does not mean Sri Lanka is terminating the existing IMF programme before its scheduled conclusion.
The current Extended Fund Facility was approved in March 2023 and is scheduled to expire in March 2027.
Nor does the statement mean Sri Lanka intends to end all relations with the IMF.
It describes the Government's present position on whether it expects to seek a successor programme after the current EFF expires.
A future Government decision could still depend on economic conditions and policy choices at that time.
Seventh Review remains unfinished
The current programme itself is not yet complete.
The IMF's September 10–23 mission ended without an announced staff-level agreement on the Seventh Review.
The Fund said discussions would continue in the near term on the parameters and policies required to conclude the review.
Therefore the Government's statement about 2027 should not be interpreted as meaning the Seventh Review has been completed or that further IMF disbursements under the existing programme have already been approved.
If production contains the recent IMF Seventh Review article, link this story closely to it without replacing the distinct September 23 mission outcome.