IMF officials will be here next month: Harsha

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will send a team of officials next month for the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arranged for Sri Lanka, Minister Harsha de Silva, who was in Washington for talks with the IMF said yesterday.

The IMF said it had established the EFF to provide assistance to countries experiencing serious payment imbalances because of structural impediments or characterized by slow growth and an inherently weak balance of payments position. The EFF provides assistance in support of comprehensive programmes that include policies of the scope and character required to correct structural imbalances over an extended period. He said the talks with the IMF were cordial and positive but declined to reveal more details.