President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told an International Monetary Fund delegation on Thursday that Sri Lanka has moved onto a path of economic stability, and that his government’s aim is to treat that as a starting point rather than an end.
The meeting was held at the Presidential Secretariat with the IMF team led by Mission Chief Evan Papageorgiou, NewsFirst reported. The delegation is in Colombo for the seventh review of the Extended Fund Facility and the 2026 Article IV Consultation, and is scheduled to remain until 23 September.
Dissanayake said recent indicators show stability has been achieved, and that the objective now is a “transformative era” of growth whose benefits reach ordinary households through improved living standards. He said the IMF-supported programme had given Sri Lanka a framework for rebuilding after years of turmoil, and that the stronger position had let the country absorb shocks including Cyclone Ditwah and the economic effects of the conflict in the Middle East. He pointed to 4.2% growth in the second quarter as evidence of recovery.
According to the President’s Media Division, Papageorgiou acknowledged significant progress, commending fiscal discipline, rising government revenue and foreign investment, while stressing the importance of preserving stability through 2027 and beyond. The delegation also acknowledged progress on the social welfare benefits programme, a standing commitment under the programme.
The talks covered the burden of higher energy costs on households arising from Middle East developments. Hiru News reported the same meeting in shorter form, adding that the President thanked the Fund for the foundation laid.
NewsFirst named the rest of the delegation as Enrique Flores Curiel, Dinar Prihardini, Ursula Wiriadinata, Ozlem Aydin, Yorbol Yakhshilikov, Klakow Akepanidtaworn, Yan Chen, Resident Representative Martha Woldemichael and local economist Manavee Abeyawickrama.
Neither account says whether a staff-level agreement has been reached, what tranche would follow, or when the Article IV findings will be published.
Update: The government news portal news.lk has published its own account of the meeting, confirming every figure above — the 4.2% second-quarter growth, the 10–23 September mission window, and the same IMF delegation list — and establishing that the President’s Media Division is the common origin of all three reports.
It adds the Sri Lankan side of the table, which the other accounts omit: Central Bank Governor Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe; Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development; Duminda Hulangamuwa, Senior Economic Advisor to the President; and G.M.R.D. Aponsu, Senior Additional Secretary to the President for Finance and Economic Affairs.
The questions listed above remain open: no account says whether a staff-level agreement was reached, what tranche follows, or when the Article IV findings appear.
