IMF chief lauds India for helping Sri Lanka

New Delhi: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has lauded India for its help to crisis-hit Sri Lanka.

The IMF MD also assured Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that the financial institution would continue to engage with the island nation.

Georgieva made these remarks during the Spring Meetings of IMF-World Bank (WB) in Washington DC with Sitharaman.

Discussing the recent geopolitical developments, Sitharaman and Georgieva raised concerns about its impact on the global economy and the challenges linked to the rising energy prices.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis, with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices, and power cuts affecting many people.

The economic situation has led to huge protests with demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Ms Sitharaman is in Washington on an official visit to attend the Spring Meetings at the World Bank, the G20 Finance Ministers meeting, and the Central Bank Governor Meeting (FMCBG).

Apart from her official engagements with the World Bank, IMF, G20, and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Sitharaman, on Monday (April 18), also attended an event at the Atlantic Council, a think tank based in Washington DC, sources said.

The visit will also include several bilateral interactions, including with Indonesia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, as well as a high-level meeting with World Bank President David Malpass, a Ministry of Finance statement said.

Notably, once the meetings conclude in Washington, Sitharaman will head to San Francisco on April 24, where she will engage with business leaders and interact with the faculty and students at Stanford University.