Sri Lanka says World Bank agrees to provide $600 million in financial aid

For months, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) resisted calls by experts and opposition leaders to seek help from the IMF despite rising risks.

The World Bank. (File)

The World Bank has agreed to provide Sri Lanka with $600 million in financial assistance to help meet payment requirements for essential imports, the Sri Lankan president’s media division said in a statement.

For months, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) resisted calls by experts and opposition leaders to seek help from the IMF despite rising risks. But after oil prices soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, the government eventually drew up a plan to approach the IMF in April.

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