Pathfinder ‘In Conversation’ webinar on ‘Should Sri Lanka be afraid of going to the IMF?’

Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque

Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy

A Pathfinder Foundation hosted ‘In Conversation’ webinar will be held on Wednesday from 2:30-3:30 p.m., where Pathfinder Foundation Distinguished Fellow and Central Bank former Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy will

conduct a discussion with Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque. The event is hosted in partnership with the Daily FT.

Sri Lanka has sought support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 16 times. Therefore, the question has now been raised as to whether there is a benefit in seeking IMF support yet again. ‘Has the need to approach the IMF time and again been due to the Fund’s failed policies, or a lack of appropriate policies by Sri Lanka?’ and ‘Is the IMF well positioned to assist Sri Lanka at this difficult time?’ would be key points of discussion.

Dr. Nadeem ul Haque is currently the Vice Chancellor of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Quaid-e-Azam University Campus, Islamabad. He also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan. Apart from his extensive work in Pakistan, Dr. Haque has served in the International Monetary Fund for 24 years. 

During his long and illustrious affiliation with the IMF, he implemented Public Structure Reform in Sri Lanka and worked with two central banks to organise a modernisation effort, which included improvements in the monetary framework and the policy formulation process. Dr. Haque was also the Resident Representative of the IMF in Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2003. 

Previous webinars of the ‘In Conversation’ series have featured World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka Faris Hadad-Zervos; Georgetown University Professor of the Practice of Development Dr. Shanta Devarajan; Government of India former Foreign Secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran; former National Security Advisor to India Ambassador Shivshankar Menon; Commonwealth and Development Office Chief International Science Envoy-Foreign Professor Carole Mundell, and British Conservative Party Politician at the House of Lords Nasby PC. 

To register to the public webinar, use the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WWJgH5CXRVSzrXLf7BHUhA or visit the Pathfinder Face Book page https://www.facebook.com/Pathfinderfoundaton/.