IMF says held 'fruitful' technical talks with Sri Lanka on loan request

FILE PHOTO - Demonstrators shout slogans against Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, near the Presidential Secretariat, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 23, 2022. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Saturday that its staff held "fruitful technical discussions" with Sri Lankan authorities on the crisis-wracked country's request for an IMF-supported loan program this week.

The Fund said in a statement that the discussions included the need for Sri Lanka to implement "a credible and coherent strategy" to restore macroeconoimc stability and to strengthen its social safety net and protect the poor and vulnerable during the current crisis.