(Updates with details, background, adds finance minister quote)
By Uditha Jayasinghe and Swati Bhat
COLOMBO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's bailout package
can be presented to the International Monetary Fund's board for
approval as soon as the island nation obtains adequate
assurances from bilateral creditors and meets remaining
requirements, an IMF spokesperson said on Friday.
The island of 22 million people has been battling its
worst economic turmoil since independence from Britain in 1948,
which has forced it to default on loans and seek a bailout from
global lender IMF.
"We welcome the recent statement by the Paris Club to
provide financing assurances to Sri Lanka following the
assurances provided by India," the IMF spokesperson told Reuters
in a statement.
"As soon as adequate assurances are obtained and remaining
requirements are met, including by the Sri Lankan authorities,
the EFF (extended fund facility) arrangement for Sri Lanka can
be presented to the IMF's Executive Board for approval that
would unlock much needed external financing."
The country has been engaging with bilateral creditors
including China to secure the necessary financing assurances and
also continues to advance on domestic reforms, the IMF added.
On Wednesday, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took
office in July after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted in a popular
uprising, told parliament that he could see a way out of the
crisis through economic reforms, which will seal the IMF deal.
Wickremesinghe also said the country was working with
China, its largest bilateral lender to seek assurances
supporting a debt restructuring which would help finalise the
IMF programme.
"Sri Lanka going beyond March without an IMF programme
will be challenging for us. We have shown how committed we are
and the hardships faced by the people can only be justified by
an IMF Board approval," Sri Lanka State Minister of Finance
Shehan Semasinghe told Reuters earlier this week.
"It will bring considerable improvement to Sri Lanka's
economy and hopefully the country will bounce back. Without a
programme people will lose confidence."
(Reporting by Swati Bhat, editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
+91-22-69217812; Reuters Messaging:
swati.bhat.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
