Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake met top officials of the World Bank and IMF in Washington recently and discussed the developmental needs of the country, seeking their assistance in improving the economic situation of the island nation.

In his maiden visit to Washington on February 17 and 18 after assuming office, Karunanayake held a meeting with World Bank’s Managing Director Mulyani Indrawati, who assured continued assistance to Sri Lanka in its development efforts, including during this critical transformation period.

Welcoming the new government’s emphasis on improving governance, transparency and accountability, Indrawati assured that the World Bank would favourably consider request for programme support under its Development Policy Loan (DPL) scheme, said a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Embassy in the US capital.

The Sri Lankan Finance Minister met the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde. “We had a fruitful discussion about recent economic developments in Sri Lanka and the near-term outlook,” said a joint statement issued by Sri Lanka and IMF.

These discussions will continue in the context of the next regularly scheduled Post-Programme Monitoring mission led by Todd Schneider, which will visit Sri Lanka from February 23 through March 4.

IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Changyong Rhee will also join the mission to meet with senior officials.

“The Post-Programme Monitoring mission is expected to be followed by IMF technical assistance missions focused on tax policy and administration, public financial management, and financial sector supervision,” said the joint statement.

The Sri Lankan Finance Minister also met senior officials of the US Treasury Department during which he sought technical assistance for capacity building in tax reforms. Assistant US Treasury Secretary Ramin Toloui assured that official-level discussion will continue to identify specific areas for technical assistance.

In his meeting with Nisha Desai Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia, the Finance Minister reiterated that the new government will ensure an inclusive political culture and good governance.

The government will focus on sustainable development with the assistance of both bilateral and multilateral partners, he said.
(with inputs from PTI)