IMF
On
Sri Lanka
Deficit, No
Reference to
Defense, No
Timeline for
Egypt Deal
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 5 -- At
the
International
Monetary
Fund's
briefing on
April 5, Inner
City Press
asked about
Egypt and Sri
Lanka. The
Egyptian
answer was
short and
picked up by
wire services
-- "the
timeline for
concluding an
agreement is
not fixed and
will depend on
how quickly
progress is
made by all
sides on these
issues" --
but the Sri
Lanka answer
was provided
later and so
is published
here.
Inner
City Press
asked, "What is
the status
of the IMF's
program in Sri
Lanka? Is the
IMF only
looking at
balance
of payments?
When would it
consider
releasing the
next and final
tranche?"
Later,
just after
embargo
deadline, the
following came
in:
From:
IMF Media
Relations
Date: Thu, Apr
5, 2012 at
10:37 AM
Subject:
Question
Received
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
Dear
Matthew, Thank
you for your
question.
Please
attribute the
following
to Gerry Rice,
Director of
External
Relations
Department,
IMF.
On
April 2, the
Executive
Board approved
the completion
of the Seventh
Review of the
Stand By
Arrangement,
which enables
the
disbursement
of
SDR 275.6
million
(approximately
$400 million).
The Board also
approved the
extension of
the program by
2 months to
July 2012 to
allow time for
the completion
of the Eighth
and final
review.
The
main pillars
of the program
are to rebuild
Sri Lanka’s
reserves,
while
transitioning
to a more
flexible
monetary and
exchange rate
policy
framework,
reducing the
budget deficit
to sustainable
levels,
and
strengthening
the financial
system.
This
follows back
and forth with
the IMF
regarding Sri
Lanka's
increased
defense
spending.
The question
of if the IMF
is only
looking at
balance of
payments
refers, for
example, to
the recent UN
Human
Rights Council
resolution on
Sri Lanka and
accountability
for crimes
in the final
stages of its
military
conflict in
May 2009 --
after
which defense
spending
continued
nevertheless
to climb,
impacting the
very budget
deficit the
IMF refers to.
Meanwhile
the
military SCAF
government in
Egypt is
reportedly
poised to take
out an IMF
loan. Inner
City Press
asked, What is
the IMF's
reaction
to the
reported deal
in Egypt
around an IMF
program? Will
the program
now go
forward? Does
the IMF think
enough
'stakeholders'
agree?"
It
was to that
that the IMF
responded, "the
timeline for
concluding an
agreement is
not fixed and
will depend on
how quickly
progress is
made by all
sides on these
issues." Watch
this
site.
, 
