Friday Jan 30, 2026
Friday Jan 30, 2026
Friday, 30 January 2026 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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| Kristalina Georgieva |
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva is expected to visit Sri Lanka in February as part of a planned Asia tour, a spokesperson for the IMF said.
Exact dates will be announced in due course. The President’s Media Division yesterday released a video of a brief statement by IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Krishna Srinivasan during the visiting IMF team’s meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
“Our Managing Director will be coming to Colombo next month. She will be here both to look at the success of the program and to express the solidarity we have with you,” Srinivasan said.
The visit comes as Sri Lanka faces delays in completing the Fifth Review under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program following extensive infrastructure damage caused by the recent natural disaster. An IMF mission was in Sri Lanka earlier this week to assess the impact of the damage.
Srinivasan said this was his fourth visit to Sri Lanka, but his first trip outside Colombo, where he witnessed the effects of the disaster first-hand.
“I saw the impact of the natural disaster. In many parts, I saw flooding, and I saw roads which need to be repaired,” he said, conveying the Fund’s sympathies “for the lives lost and for the impact of the disaster.”
He noted that the IMF-supported program had been performing well prior to the disaster. “The program was doing very well, and this was an unexpected shock. This came at a very wrong time,” Srinivasan said, adding that IMF teams were engaging closely with Sri Lankan authorities.
Srinivasan also pointed to public recognition of reforms undertaken by the Government. “Talking to people, there is huge appreciation for what the Government has done for the people, notably in the area of governance reform,” he said.
He added that a large IMF delegation was currently in Sri Lanka for a previously scheduled regional meeting, which the Fund decided to proceed with despite the disaster. “We said no, we want to express our solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. So, we are here,” Srinivasan said.
