Exclusive: Sri Lanka central bank governor warns political instability may hurt IMF negotiations

Nandalal Weerasinghe, newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, speaks during a news conference, amid the country’s economic crisis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO, July 11 (Reuters) – Prolonged political instability in Sri Lanka may delay progress on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package, the central bank governor told Reuters on Monday, after protesters forced the president and prime minister to offer their resignations.

“I would like to have a stable political administration sooner than later,” Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe said.

“I hope that there will be an administration in which people can place more confidence.”

Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe and Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Krishna Das and Raju Gopalakrishnan

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