Tuesday Oct 20, 2026
Tuesday Oct 20, 2026
Monday, 19 October 2026 04:54 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Verité Research yesterday said it played a notable role at the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) Group in Bangkok, driving strategic dialogues on debt, inequality, and governance through policy roundtables, high-level investor briefings, and multilateral stakeholder engagements.
The Verité Research delegation to the Annual Meetings, held from 12 to 18 October, included Executive Director Dr. Nishan de Mel, Corporate Director – Strategic Planning Inoshini Perera, and Lead Economist Raj Prabu Rajakulendran.
During the Meetings, the think tank convened two roundtables, co-sponsored two Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) sessions, served on expert panels in closed-door discussions, and met with IMF, Government, donor, and civil society counterparts. The delegation also conducted technical briefings for international sovereign debt investors on Sri Lanka’s economic outlook and IMF program implementation.
The first side-event roundtable examined how Governance-Linked Bonds, a novel sovereign debt instrument designed by Verité Research for Sri Lanka as a world first, could be applied to other debt-vulnerable nations. The second roundtable explored structural safeguards to protect democratic governance within IMF programs, addressing concerns that reform frameworks can inadvertently bypass parliaments, judiciary bodies, and independent national institutions.
As part of the CSPF, the civil society track of the official IMF–World Bank program, Verité Research co-sponsored sessions focusing on fiscal transparency and accountability across the Asia-Pacific region, alongside multilateral responses to nations facing severe debt burdens.
Additionally, the delegation participated in closed-door roundtables with international debt managers, legal experts, and development partners to address hidden fiscal risks operating outside headline public debt statistics. The team also contributed to a panel on policy advocacy in Asia at a partner foundation’s forum, and provided media commentary on Sri Lanka’s fiscal accountability structures.
