Sri Lanka has not requested financial support - IMF

COLOMBO (News 1st); The International Monetary Fund has said it is ready to discuss options with Sri Lanka if the government asks for financial support.

The International Monetary Fund's mission chief for Sri Lanka Masahiro Nozaki has told AFP that the government has not requested financial support.

In a statement, he said, "the staff stands ready to discuss options if requested".

Finance minister Basil Rajapaksa recently said Sri Lanka had sought advice from the IMF and was considering seeking an international bailout.

The mission chief said this was about an ongoing technical assistance mission by the IMF to strengthen the Macro Fiscal Unit at the finance ministry and focuses on training the staff at the Unit.

He said the mission is being conducted virtually until February 9th.