Sri Lanka, April 20 -- Discussions between Sri Lanka and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the Fourth Review of the US$ 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program, have commenced in Washington, DC.

Sri Lanka will be represented at the talks by senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), said Deputy Finance Minister Prof. Anil Jayantha Fernando.

This follows a working visit to Sri Lanka by an IMF team led by senior official Evan Papageorgiou from April 3 to 11. Papageorgiou said the IMF staff team had very productive discussions with the Sri Lankan leaders and monetary authorities on economic performance and policies underpinning the Fourth Review under the IMF's EFF arrangement. ...