President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team have agreed to continue the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme without any changes.

The agreement was reached during a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat following the IMF’s fact-finding mission on the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.

The IMF team stated that Sri Lanka’s fiscal discipline enabled the presentation of a Rs. 500 billion supplementary estimate and noted that talks on releasing the sixth tranche will resume in March.

President Dissanayake stated that Rs. 500 billion has been allocated to protect rural livelihoods affected by the disaster, stressing that fiscal responsibility will be maintained.