Sri Lanka’s IMF reviews expected in coming weeks, $700 Million release pending

The IMF said it expects its Executive Board to take up Sri Lanka’s combined Fifth and Sixth Reviews under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in the coming weeks, and that approval would allow Sri Lanka to access about US$700 million in financing.

Speaking at the IMF’s May 14, 2026 press briefing, IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack said an IMF team and Sri Lankan authorities reached a Staff-Level Agreement on April 9 for the combined reviews, but final completion depends on Executive Board approval.

Kozack said several “prior actions” were needed before the program can be brought to the Board. These included restoring cost-recovery electricity and fuel pricing, while also protecting vulnerable groups, and completing the financing assurances review. She described the move to cost recovery as having two parts: shifting prices to cost-recovery levels and ensuring vulnerable people are protected.

Asked whether the program may be adjusted or renewed due to global conditions and higher fuel import costs, Kozack said Sri Lanka has faced two major shocks: Cyclone Ditwah, which she described as both an economic and humanitarian shock, and the impact of the war in the Middle East.

She said Sri Lanka and its people have shown “remarkable resilience,” and that reforms implemented over recent years under the IMF-supported program are delivering results. Kozack highlighted that fiscal performance in 2025 was particularly strong, supported mainly by revenue, while debt restructuring is nearly complete. She added that the economy grew by 5% in 2025, inflation has moved from negative (deflationary) territory back to positive, and the IMF expects the debt-to-GDP ratio to be on a downward path.

Kozack said the IMF views Sri Lanka’s economic performance as strong and the authorities’ reform commitment as firm, adding that the IMF will keep working closely with the government to determine how best to support Sri Lanka, and that its commitment to supporting Sri Lanka and its people remains “unwavering.”

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