Sri Lankan Minister, Ramesh Pathirana, claimed that the government was open to turning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout if the need arises as they have in the past.
This statement follows repeated statements from Sri Lankan lawmaker, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, who insisted that Sri Lanka would not turn to the IMF. Responding to a plea for this from former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's, Nanayakkara went so far as to state:
“Even if we die, we will not seek assistance from the IMF. This is the final thing I have to say. Even if this Government, our Government gets destroyed, we are not prepared to reach out to the IMF and destroy the lives of our people”.
The IMF has reported that Sri Lanka has not yet made any requests for financial assistance, but it comes amidst a worsening economic crisis. Sri Lanka's gold reserves have fallen to USD $92 million from USD $175 million at the end of January. Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves have fallen over 24% to USD $2.36 billion by the end of January from USD $3.14 billion at the end of December 2021, despite currency swaps and debt deferments from India and China.
The country continues to face a dire fuel crisis and shortages in basic goods such as medicines. Responding to the crisis Finance Minister, Basil Rajapaksa, alleged that only a “small shortage of certain essential items” on the island, claiming that other stocks were “sufficient” even as reports of families going hungry on the island emerged.
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