Sri Lanka facing economic misery

SRI Lanka’s economy is in dire straits with its usable foreign reserves down to less than £40m, the country’s finance minister said.

Ali Sabry said any IMF rescue programme, including a rapid financing instrument needed to urgently resolve shortages of essential goods, would depend on negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors and would take six months to implement.

Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign loans.

Its economic miseries have brought on a political crisis, with the government facing protests and a no-confidence motion in parliament.